


Angeli Etiam Cadunt

by Flowersandtrees



Category: Dear Evan Hansen - Pasek & Paul/Levenson
Genre: Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Angel!Evan, Angel!Heidi, Angst, Fanfiction, Fantasy, Fluff and Angst, Jaredxzoe, M/M, Treebros, and that alone makes me scared of the mistakes you guys have had to read, angel au, grammarly says there are 171 things wrong with this story's punctuation, i still don’t know how to tag, im kidding with that last tag i love every single piece of art i get for this thing, ive only gotten two but i still cried, yall know I can’t write anything without angst, yall? Liking this story and drawing fanart? unrealistic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-23
Updated: 2018-10-22
Packaged: 2019-05-10 09:17:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 21,684
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14734232
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Flowersandtrees/pseuds/Flowersandtrees
Summary: Evan and Heidi Hansen are angels, Heidi being full angel; halo and all, whilst Evan is only half, seeing as he was also born of a human. The two Hansen’s must keep their identities a secret, as if it ever became known, the government will begin to hunt them down. Can Evan live a normal life as a half human, half angel, without being caught?





	1. One

  
Running. Running fast and faster and far, so far. Trees, everywhere, all around, all one could see in the pitch black darkness of the night. Breathing, short and hitched and deep and so very hard to do, even with the lungs that can hold much more oxygen than that of a normal lung function. Blood was pouring out of a wound, one in the young adolescent's shoulder, one in the large, white feathery limbs of her wing. The girl continued to run, unable to stop. The sound of heavy footprints and the rustling of leaves from behind her were enough to keep her going. That, and the adrenaline rush 10 times more than that of a normal human. She ran and ran, until she finally broke through the tree line and came to a stumbling halt at the edge of a cliff. Just below, at least 100 feet, was a town. Not too small to be a village, but not too large to be a city. Just, a town. The girl glanced back at the forest she had just broken free of, the flashlight beams of her captors drawing near. She then glanced back to the town, calculating the long drop, and her injured wing. Light blonde hair flailing in the wind, sky blue eyes glancing back to the lights of the nearing danger, she made a decision. Bare feet backing towards the edge of the cliff, the girl fell, the tattered edges of her dress rustling in the wind. A few feathers shed from her wings, the white plumage glistening against the bright moonlight, of which cascaded over the cliffs edge. By the time the captors had arrived at the drop, the girl was gone.  
************  
_36 years later…_

A teenage boy sat on his bed, legs crossed as he gently picked at the soft vane of his feathers. Evan Hansen had his wings wrapped around him as he sat, the sun's rays slowly beginning to shine brighter through the window as it came up. The seventeen year old had always been one for rising this early, as his anxiety always made sure he was early for almost anything. Waking up to get ready for the first day of school was not an exception. A knock sounded on his door, and a few seconds later, Heidi Hansen entered the room. It wasn't as if she needed to knock, Evan could sense her aura approaching his door about half a minute before she actually knocked.

“Hey Ev, are you ready for your first day of senior year?” The boy didn't turn to face his mother, only briefly locking his sky blue eyes with her own before looking back to his wings.

“I mean, I guess, um..” Heidi took a few steps forward, sitting on the edge of the bed next to her son. Evan's wings noticeably relaxed, though did not retreat completely as one expected them to. Heidi looked sadly at her son, and then to the twenty in her hand.

“Evan, look, I know you don't like ordering food, but you can't just, not eat.” Evan fidgeted more, his hands curling and uncurling into fists.

“Well I just, y-you know, you have to talk to the delivery person and they have to count the change and then you worry if your hands are sweaty or not when you're handing them the money and getting the food and- and yeah.. I just, I can't handle it.” Heidi sighed, before reaching up and running a hand through Evan's hair. He leaned into the touch.

“That's what you're supposed to be working on Evan. Have you been writing those letters to yourself? Dear Evan Hansen, today's going to be a good day, and here's why? Those letters are important honey, they're gonna help you build your confidence.” Evan stopped picking at his feathers for a minute to gesture to his computer, halfway open on his desk. A google doc was opened, and at least two sentences had been typed.

“I started one.”

“Look, I scheduled an appointment with Doctor Sherman for after school today. If I'm lucky, I'll pick you up to take you there.” Evan nodded, deciding not to say anything about the appointment he was supposed to have later on in the week. After a few minutes, Heidi stood, and kissed her son on the forehead.

“Hey, can we try to have an optimistic outlook, huh? Maybe make this the year that we decide, we're not giving up before we've tried, this year, we'll make a new start. Hey, you can go around today and ask the other kids to sign your cast- how about that?” Heidi lamented, beaming at her son, who continued to pick at his wings.

“Perfect.” Heidi turned to leave, looking over her shoulder to smile at him.

“I'm proud of you already.” Evan looked up at her as she shut the door to his room, before looking to his open backpack.

“Oh, good.” The teenage angel began to walk around his room, picking things up that he needed for school and shoving them into his bag. His large wings folded against his back, the white feathers tinting a light blue from the sunlight. Evan grasped at the hem of his pajama shirt, preparing to take it off, but not before his wings started to shrink, just enough to where he could change clothes comfortably. That's how they worked, his and his mother's wings. They couldn't just disappear; as they were part of their bodies, but they could change in size in order to be easily hidden. The wings would become as small as the fake ones used in costumes, except they could fold in and against the owner's back. It was all a simple matter of angel magic, nothing more or less. Evan, being half angel, half human, of course had to be taught these things such as how to hide his wings, as he wasn't born with the knowledge like most angel babies. Like Heidi.

As Evan walked down the stairs of their small home, he noted his mother standing in the kitchen, grabbing her things as well as fixing the two of them some toast. Her halo glinted in the bright fluorescent lights of the kitchen, and as Evan moved to stand near her, the dirty blonde had to point this out to remind his mother.

“M-Mom, your uh, your halo is showing.” Heidi stood straight quickly, her face contorted in confusion, before she looked at her reflection in the glass of the oven.

“Oh! You're right! Sorry sorry, you know I forget when I'm in a rush Ev.” With a wave of her hand over the floating accessory, it was gone. Heidi then quickly stepped over to her son and handed him a sharpie. Evan took it with a small smile, then shoved it into his back pocket. The mother and son pair grabbed their toast and left out the house, locking the door and getting into their car. It wasn't new enough to look as shiny and nice as the other cars, but wasn't old enough to look like they were completely poor. As Heidi backed out the driveway and began down the street, Evan picked at his cast.

“D-Did you, uh, did you remember to put the ointment on the scar?” Evan asked his mother, who nodded.

“Yes Evan, I never forget. If I did, like before, it'll take longer to heal.” Heidi sighed, getting a sad look as she mentioned the last time she forgot. Evan knew the story behind that look, even if he should've been too young to remember. A normal human probably wouldn't have. The ride to school was filled with a silence, save for the rumbling of the car and the cars next to them. Evan stared out the window at the blurry trees and buildings passing by, taking peeks at the bright blue sky. He hadn't flown in a while, at least a month or so, as he was always anxious about being seen. If he was seen, someone would call the police, who would call the government, who would come after him and his mom and they'd be experimented on and-  
Evan turned from the window and looked back to his cast. When they pulled up to the school, Heidi leaned over and gave Evan a quick peck on the cheek, smiling at him.

“Have a good day sweetie.” Evan quickly got out of the car, not wanting to dawdle in case he made Heidi late to work. As he began to walk up to the entrance of the high school, he curled in on himself, gripping his backpack tightly in his fist. The blonde made himself smaller, as to not be noticed by the other kids. Not that they'd notice him anyways. Once Evan was inside the school building, he pulled a paper out of his pocket, to check once again which locker was his. He really wished that they didn't have to change lockers every school year, but there wasn't much the anxious teen could do. As Evan made his way down the hall that he was sure his locker was in, he was stopped by an energetic teen he knew all too well.

“Hey Evan! How was your summer? Mine was productive, I did at least ninety internships!” Alana Beck beamed, rocking back and forth on her heels. Evan looked at the girl, her long ebony dreadlocks swaying with each bounce, her black rimmed circle frame glasses nearly sliding off her nose, only to be adjusted with a push of her finger.

“O-Oh, my summer w-was good..”

“Oh gosh! What happened to your arm?” Alana gasped, now seeming to notice the stark white cast that had been covering Evan's arm for the past week. Evan glanced down to it, his nail absentmindedly scratching at it.

“Oh, y-you see, I was climbing a t-tree, and then I fell and-” Alana once again interrupted Evan, not like he minded. He was used to being interrupted by the girl. It was no secret that Alana had ADHD, as she always tended to state that fact with a smile when meeting someone for the first time. Evan simply happened to remember.

“Oh wow, that so sad! My grandma broke her hip getting out of the tub this summer, the beginning of the end the doctors had said. Because then she died.” Evan's eyes widened, shocked by the sudden statement of this information, and just how calmly Alana had managed to state it.

“O-oh, s-sorry..” The two stood there, before Evan gathered up the courage to say something else.

“W-would you like to-”

“Well, have a happy first day!” And with a bounce in her step and a flick of her skirt, the teenage whirlwind known as Alana Beck was gone. Evan blinked twice after processing the event, then sighed, continuing on his way. Of course Alana wouldn't want to sign his cast, she was way too busy. When he came to his locker, he was met with another face that he knew very well.

“How does it feel to be the first person to break their arm from jacking off?” Jared Kleinman spoke with a jeer to his voice, shit eating grin plastered on his face. Evan felt his feathers ruffle, as he visibly flinched. Being half angel, Evan was subject to having negative reactions to unholy situations such as this. But being half human, he could also deal with them. Beginning on using his code to open his combination locker, Evan started on his reply.

“Th-that’s not what happened…” Jared chuckled, leaning his shoulder against the metal wall, raising his hands for dramatic effect.

“I can picture it now, you've got Zoe Murphy's Instagram open on your weird, off brand phone..” Evan opened his locker, before reaching into his backpack to shove a few books inside.

“J-Jared! That's not- I told you, I just, I was climbing a tree, and I f-fell. Besides, I don't, I don't even have-have a crush on Zoe anymore. I haven't s-since last year.” Jared cocked an eyebrow, using his middle and index finger to push his glasses up his nose.

“You fell from a tree? What are you, an acorn?” Evan shut his locker, shifting nervously from one foot to the other as his grip on his backpack tightened once more.

“I-It’s a funny story actually. See, I was an assistant park ranger this summer; I don't want to brag, but I'm sort of an tree expert now, anyway, I was climbing this 40 foot tall tree, and then, the branch just broke and, and I fell.” A confused expression crossed Jared's face, as he looked his friend up and down.

“And that's funny, how…?” Evan chuckled nervously, looking to the floor. The tiles beneath his scuffed gym shoes was mostly clean, but soon to be dirtied by the end of the day from students walking around.

“Well, see the thing is, there was a solid twenty minutes where I was just, laying there, thinking; “someone's gonna come and get me, any minute now.” and, and I just thought that.”

“And did they?”

“Well that's, that's the funny part. No one came.” The two teens were silent for a few beats, before Jared sighed deeply.

“Yeah sure, okay.” The shorter teen turned to leave, but Evan stopped him.

“W-wait, would you like, like to sign my c-cast?” Jared turned back, confusion and amusement playing on his face.

“Why would I do that?” Evan moved to pick at the hem of his shirt, the blue striped polo worn from the many times it had been fidgeted with.

“Be-because we're friends?” Jared let out a bark of laughter, and Evan shrunk back, eyes on the ground, not bothering to make eye contact with his only friend.

“I told you before, we're family friends, there's a _difference_.” Evan corrected himself in his mind. Ah, yes, family friends. Right. Because who would want to be actual friends with a freak like Evan Hansen? Especially a freak with wings growing from his back. Did Evan mention that, despite them having been friends for 15 years, Jared did not know that Evan was half angel? Must've been a challenge hiding something like that from the Jared Kleinman himself. Evan continued to stare at a spot on the linoleum tiled floor, before Jared spoke up again.

“Hey Connor! Loving the new hair length, very school-shooter chic!” Evan felt his feathers rustle and rile up again, as they usually did in the presence of a possible threat. If Jared had not said anything, Evan's wings might not have rustled at all, because Evan wouldn't have perceived Connor, at that moment, to be a threat. The boy in question, turned to meet Jared's eye, glaring at him. Jared grinned again, though this time it had a bit of fear in it, and he backed up slightly as Connor stepped forwards.

“It was a joke, jeez.” Connor rolled his eyes, glaring harder as he moved even closer.

“Oh, it was funny. I'm laughing, can't you tell? Am I not laughing hard enough for you?” Jared stepped back even more before averting eye contact.

“Freak..” He muttered, before escaping down the hall. Now it was just Evan and Connor. Evan, in an act of nervousness, chuckled slightly. Connor immediately turned on him. Warning lights began going off in Evan's head.

_“You fucked up you fucked up you fucked up you fucked up-”_

“What are you laughing at? You think that's funny?” Connor growled, stepping towards Evan. The blonde began stuttering his way through an apology, stepping backwards away from the taller boy.

“Nonono I'm not I wasn't-”

“You think I'm a freak?”

“No that's not-”

“I'm not the freak, _you're_ the _fucking freak_!” Connor’s hands struck out at that moment and shoved Evan, hard. The boy fell onto the ground, wincing in pain as he landed on his arm. Connor had already turned away and was now storming off, students in the halls parting as he went past. Evan remained seated in the hall, tears welling in his eyes as he held his arm. The pain barely registered, it was more so the words that had been said that struck a nerve. Evan _was_ a freak. He was freakier than all the other kids. He was _half angel_ for God's sake. He'd never be normal, he'd never be like anyone else, he'd never-

“Hey, I'm sorry about my brother, he's a psycho, are you alright?” A voice asked from above, and Evan quickly wiped his eyes before looking up to its owner. Zoe Murphy stood above Evan, holding out a hand to help him up. Evan gratefully took it, being hauled up to his feet, before quickly taking his hand away. He was pretty sure it was sweaty.

“O-oh, yeah, n-no I'm f-fine..” Evan stuttered, picking at his cast. Zoe smiled at him, she had such a nice smile.

“You're, it's Evan, right?” Evan blinked at her, quickly looking around himself before focusing back on her.

“E-Evan?” Zoe got a confused look on her face, nodding slowly.

“Yeah, your name _is_ Evan Hansen, correct?” Evan felt his wings ruffle under his shirt, and his cheeks flushed red as he realized what he did.

“O-oh! Y-yeah, it's, I'm Evan Hansen. Sorry.”

“Why are you apologizing?”

“It's just that, you said my name and I repeated it and I know that's annoying when people do that and I'm annoying so, sorry..” Zoe giggled, and smiled at him again.

“I'm Zoe.” Evan nodded, his eyes darting around before landing on her once again.

“N-no, yeah, I know.”

“You know?” He immediately realized how creepy that must have sounded, and rushed to correct himself.

“Y-yeah it's just, you're in Jazz Band and I've seen like, one of your concerts and you're really good, like I like jazz well not all jazz but most jazz, definitely jazz band jazz, You know?” Evan flinched as he took note that he sounded even dumber than he had before, and if he didn't scare her off then, he definitely would now.

“Yeah.. Well, I'm sorry about my brother, once again. Have a good day Evan!” Zoe waved and walked off, bounce in her step. Evan waved back, and it wasn't until a few seconds later that he realized he'd missed the opportunity to ask her to sign his cast. Dammit.  
***********

  
“Shit, I'm sorry honey, I know I was supposed to pick you up, but see, Jenny called in sick and I volunteered to take her shift, because they called budget cuts this morning and I wanted to, you know, do anything I can to show that I'm a team player..” Heidi rambled through the phone, Evan nodding along as he printed his letter out and placed it into his bag.

“It's okay, I can walk. Or, fly.” He could hear Heidi shuffling along on the other end, presumably pacing.

“Yeah, okay um, if you do fly just, remember the rules, above the clouds, and take off in a secluded area, and be safe. I'll be home really late tonight. If you get hungry, we've got those Trader Joe Dumplings in the freezer.” Evan hummed in agreement, exiting the computer lab and heading towards the closest exit doors.

“Shit, I've got to go honey, I'll talk to you later, okay? Love you.” The call hung up before Evan could even reply back.

“Love you too..” He ended up muttering into the blank phone, sighing as he shoved it in his pocket. Walking into the cool breeze of the outside area, Evan began to trek over to the nearby patch of trees and forested area behind the school. He usually came here when he needed to stretch his wings or just be alone, and even to take off on the days that he did decide to fly. As soon as he was surrounded by trees, the blonde boy carefully looked around him to make sure he hadn't been followed, before sliding his backpack off. He opened it and pulled out a special shirt his mom had made for him whenever he wanted to stretch his wings. It looked just like his other polo shirts, but it had slits in the back, so his wings could fit through, of course. Removing his regular polo and sliding on the second one, Evan stretched his arms over his head, preparing to grow his wings back out. The boy sighed as he felt his back muscles pop, and then shook his body a bit to get rid of the tension. Slowly, but not too slow, Evan's wings began to grow back out, easily fitting through the slits in his shirt and extending to their full length. Evan's wings were fairly big, just a tad bit bigger than his mother's, seeing as he was male. They were about as long as the arm length of two full grown men, and half as large as his body. The white feathers shimmered in the stray rays of sunlight that crept through the tree canopy, and Evan sighed in relief. It wasn't that hard to keep his wings small, but it was tiring most of the time, and he just felt so relieved when he could stretch them back to full length. Evan and Heidi could always walk around the house with their wings out, as all the windows were one way. They could see outside, but nobody could see in. Back to the present, Evan gave his wings a few test flaps, to make sure they were in working condition, before folding them against his back and turning to pick up his backpack. Just then, Evan heard two words that made him freeze, and his blood run cold.

“Holy. Shit.” The blonde slowly turned, his sky blue eyes locking onto the figure that stood a few feet away from Evan, between the trees. Connor Murphy stood slack jawed in place, hands tightly gripped onto the strap of his messenger bag. The two teens stood in a staring contest for what seemed like forever, one with eyes full of pure fear, and one with eyes full of pure shock and wonder.

 

  
Evan, of course, screamed first. 


	2. Two

Connor Murphy didn’t believe in angels. Or miracles or happiness or anything of the sort. All those beliefs had been crushed, long ago. Connor only believed in the cold truth, and that was that this world fucking sucked. The tall brunette was in a shitty mood, the calm peace that he had at 4 am the morning of the first day of school destroyed by the sound of Zoe banging on his bedroom door, telling him to get up. He’d gracefully yelled “fuck you” through the door, before begrudgingly removing himself from his soft bed to move around his room, throwing on any clothes he could find. He’d grabbed his messenger bag and stormed down the stairs, crashing into his seat at the dining room table and resting his head on the polished wood. His eyes were red from crying himself to sleep that night, as well as lack of rest. A solid five hours, truly a new record. Cynthia came into the living room, setting up the dining table around Connor, preparing for breakfast.

“I don’t want to go today.” Cynthia sighed, placing down the last plate before turning to her son.

“You have to go Connor.” Connor rolled his eyes, before putting his arms on the table and resting his head on them.

“I’ll go tomorrow.” It wasn’t true. He wasn’t planning on going tomorrow. He wasn’t planning on being alive tomorrow. Larry and Zoe then joined the two at the table, and Cynthia started up her response.

“It’s your senior year Connor, you are not missing the first day.” The brunette grit his teeth, already feeling the anger bubbling in his chest, and he knew there was going to be a fight.

“I already said I’d go tomorrow. I’m trying to make a compromise here.” As if anyone asked for his opinion, Larry decided to open his big mouth, eyes locked on his cellphone as he tapped away, using one hand to eat his breakfast.

“He doesn’t listen. Look at him, he’s probably high.”

“He’s definitely high.” Zoe piped in, pouring her orange juice into a cup. Connor glared at her from across the table.

“Fuck you!” Zoe sneered back, placing the pitcher of juice down.

“Fuck you!” Cynthia glared at both her children, wiping her hands off on the apron that was tied around her waist.

“Zoe, stop patronizing your brother! Besides, look at him, he’s not high! Right?” The mother looked to her son for clarification, and though it was true, Connor knew his family wouldn’t believe him anyway, so he just put his head back down. Cynthia sighed, giving the boy a reprimanding gaze.

“I don’t want you going to school high Connor!” The boy in question stood from the table, giving a cold smile and glare as he grabbed his bag and hauled it onto his shoulder.

“Perfect, so then I won’t go. Thanks mom!” Connor stormed off into the kitchen, where he grabbed the carton of milk off the counter and gulped down the last of it, before he turned the other way and quickly made his way to the foyer, where he opened the door and slammed it as he left. Connor did not want to deal with Zoe on the way to school, so he began to walk. It was only a ten minute walk, with his long legs, and by the time he arrived at the front doors, Zoe was just pulling around the corner down the street to the school. Connor made his way into the building, or Hell, as most kids liked to call it. Students backed away as he walked past, glare on his face and force in his step. He turned a corner to make his way to his locker, when someone said something that caught his attention.

“Hey Connor! Nice hair length, very school-shooter chic!” Connor turned to see who it was, and nearly growled in annoyance. Of course, fucking Kleinman. The annoying teen was standing by some lockers, shit eating grin on his face, with his friend standing next to him. Connor couldn’t recall the kid’s name. Handel? Hassle? Jared spoke up again, fear in his eyes, though it was slightly clouded by cockiness.

“It was a joke, jeez.” Connor stepped towards him, his hands balling into fists.

“No, I was laughing, can’t you tell? Was I not laughing hard enough for you?” Jared muttered something that sounded like “freak” under his breath, before turning tail and retreating. It was just Connor and Kleinman’s friend now. Connor breathed out and got ready to leave, when he heard a sound. His eyes quickly turned and trained on the other teen near him, whose face suddenly contorted into that of pure fear. Had, had this kid just fucking laughed at him? Connor immediately preyed on the teen, a low growl emitting from under his breath.

“What are you laughing at? You think that's funny?” Connor spoke, stepping towards the boy. The blonde began stuttering his way through an apology, stepping backwards, attempting to get away from the taller boy. There wasn’t much space to escape.

“Nonono I'm not I wasn't-” The kid started, but Connor wasn’t having it. His vision was red, the anger from this morning bubbling up once more, except more furiously.

“You think I'm a freak?”

“No that's not-”

“I'm not the freak, _you're_ the _fucking freak_!” The next thing he knew, the boy in the blue polo was on the ground, and Connor was storming away. His anger blinded him all through first hour, until it subsided, and Connor rethought his actions. It dawned upon him that the kid hadn’t been laughing at him, but perhaps from the awkward situation. Connor had seen the boy around, always anxious, always hiding away. Not to mention, the kid had a _broken arm_ , and Connor pushed him. It wasn’t even his fault. By lunchtime, the brunette realized that he had to track the kid down, and apologise. At least if he was gonna be seen as a monster by everyone else, maybe he could fix one thing. He could fix this. He just hoped it wouldn’t escalate to him possibly harming the kid even more.

Finally, it was the end of the day, and Connor made his way out of his class, and began to try to track down the kid in the blue polo. Just as he turned a corner, Connor spotted the kid down the hall, on the phone with someone as he walked out of the fire exit doors. Connor quickly walked down the hall after him, deciding not to sprint since there were still a few teachers in their classes, prepared to reprimand him if they saw him running. By the time Connor got to the doors and opened them, he just barely caught a glimpse of the blue shirt disappearing into the patch of trees at the back of their school. Connor had no clue why the kid was going there, when his ride could be waiting at the front to pick him up, but didn’t question it, instead taking clear off across the field towards the large patch of forestry. Making his way through the trees, Connor soon stopped at a small clearing in the middle of the trees, where the boy was standing. His backpack had been carefully discarded on the ground, as well as a blue polo shirt. But what had made Connor stop in surprise was not the fact that the boy was here, oh no. It was the fact that the kid had _large fucking wings_ sprouting from his back. The other teen flapped the appendages twice, like he was testing them, before folding them against his back. He then turned and began to pick up his backpack and his shirt, and that was when Connor’s brain finally caught up with him and he spoke.

“Holy. Shit.” The boy immediately froze in place, having heard Connor. His piercing blue eyes, _what the fuck why were they so blue_ , turned to look at the taller teen, full of fear and maybe a few tears. Connor just stared, mouth hanging open as he looked on in surprise and wonder, his eyes never leaving those blue ones. They stood in silence for what seemed like forever, before finally the boy screamed. Connor dropped his bag, stumbling backwards. The kid began to hyperventilate, eyes darting around as tears flowed from them, his arms clutching his bag and shirt close to his chest. Connor realized that the kid was having a panic attack, and despite the wings, he still wanted to help and apologize.

“Hey, hey, calm down, I'm not gonna hurt you.” He approached the boy like he was a frightened animal, keeping his hands raised in a non threatening gesture. The kid shook his head, and Connor stopped his approach, but continued to attempt to calm him down.

“Look, it's okay, you're panicking. Can you breathe? Can you breathe for me?” The kid took a deep breath, presumably trying to calm himself, but it wasn't seeming to work, his chest was still heaving quickly and his pupils were dilated.

“Nononono- C-can’t, no!” In one swift movement, the kid's wings flew open, the sudden movement startling Connor and causing him to step back. The blonde's knees bent, and his wings raised, and Connor realized what was going on.

“No, wait!” It was too late, the blonde took off like a bullet into the sky with one flap of his large wings, and shot into the air, disappearing into the nearest low layer of clouds.

“Shit!” Connor cursed loudly under his breath, before turning and running out of the trees. He ran back to the school, making it to the lockers in time to find Jared at his locker.

“Kleinman!” Jared jumped in surprise, before his eyes landed on Connor. The taller boy was gripping his bag extra tight, and his hair was a mess from running. Jared narrowed his eyes at Connor, crossing his arms over his chest.

“What do you want freak? Here to tell me you'll spare me when you shoot up the school?” Connor glared at the teen, gritting his teeth.

“One, say that shit again and I'll beat you to a pulp in the middle of this hallway. Two, what's the name of your friend, the kid in the polo, and where does he live?” Jared sneered, stepping back.

“The fuck you want with Evan? Hope you aren't trying to murder him or anything. And we're family friends, there's a diff-” The sound of fist colliding with locker resounded throughout the near-empty hallways, the last few remaining students turning to stare at the source of the sound. Connor had punched the locker next to Kleinman's face, the metal now with a fist-sized dent in it, and Jared's expression frozen in fear.

“God dammit Kleinman, I don't have the fucking time, and I'm not in the fucking mood for your stupid fucking jokes! Where. Does. He. Live?”

“5465 Schuyler Street, it's a blue and white house, can't miss it, n-now get the fuck away from me, freak!” Jared pushed Connor away from him and ran off, and while in normal circumstances, Connor would have probably grabbed the teen’s shirt and decked him in the face for pushing him, he didn't. Instead he glared at the remaining students in the hallway, growling at them.

“The fuck are you staring at?!” He yelled, scaring them all away, before Connor himself turned and ran out the nearest exit. He knew the town like the back of his hand, if his experience from ditching school and walking around the place was anything to go by. His legs carried him quickly to Schuyler Street, and the boy immediately spotted the blue painted house. Connor went up to the house and knocked on the door, hoping for an answer. He took note that the windows were dark, and he could not see inside. Maybe the curtains were drawn? When he knocked, it seemed that the door was not closed all the way, and in fact creaked open, surprising and worrying Connor.

“Hello? Evan?” The brunette called into the mostly dark house, the only light coming in was from the sunlight filtering through the windows. The curtains, were actually wide open. Connor thought this was weird, but didn’t question it, focusing back on the house as he heard a door slam upstairs. Closing the front door all the way behind him, Connor cautiously made his way up the house stairs.

“Evan, it’s me, Connor..” Walking down the upstairs hallway of the small house, he noticed three doors, one at the end of the hall, one in the middle of the hall yet on the left side, and another door closer to the stairs. It had a sign taped to it in what looked like child’s handwriting.

“ _Evan Hansen’s room_ ” So that was Evan’s last name. Connor walked up to the door, and knocked on it, once again letting the teen know he was here. He opened it slowly, peeking his head in. His long hair fell around and framed his face as he did so. The room was mostly empty, but it had more things in it than Connor's room would ever have. There was a blue dresser by the wall, across from a sliding door closet. The bed was against the wall in a corner near the dresser, and next to that was a window, the kind you could sit in. It was draped with soft blue curtains, and a few decorative pillows. On the side of the room near the closet, there was a dark blue bookshelf, with a few books on it. Not enough to fill the shelf. The only posters in the room was a Doctor Who poster above the headrest of the bed, showing the 11th Doctor, a few tree posters, and one poster of an angel's wings. The carpet and the walls were coloured a regular and soft blue.

“Evan?” Connor couldn't see the boy, but he was sure he was in here. A sob sounded from the closet, but it was quickly silenced. Connor made his way over to the area, and slowly opened the sliding doors. There was Evan, sitting in the farthest corner of the closet, partially hidden by blue striped polo shirts. His wings were wrapped tightly around him, and his hands were clamped over his mouth as he hyperventilated. Tears were still streaming down his face, and his sky blue eyes flashed up to Connor when he heard the closet doors open. The blonde removed his hands to try to say something, but only a sob escaped, and Evan continued to spiral. Connor walked the rest of the way into the closet, dropping his messenger bag on the ground as he kneeled in front of the angel teen.

“Hey, hey, come on.. Breathe with me, right? In for four, out for seven. Here, put your hands on my chest..” Connor directed Evan through his panic attack, demonstrating the breathing exercises and having the teen follow along. After a while, it felt like at least twenty minutes, Connor had calmed Evan down enough to talk again. Once that happened, the boy started speaking.

“P-p-please, I’m sorry, I-I’ll do an-anything, j-just don-don’t call the p-police o-or th-the government or-” Connor interrupted him, shaking his head in astoundment.

“No, fuck, wait, what? The government? Why would I call the police on you?” The brunette asked, face scrunched in confusion. Evan stared at him incredulously, eyes wide, wings and body shaking.

“B-because I’m a freak, I have w-wings coming from m-my back, s-so you’d h-have to call the police on me, b-but please don’t! I-I don-don’t care what happens to m-me, but they’ll go a-after my mom ag-again, and I don’t w-want them to e-experiment o-on her.. S-so I’ll do whatever you want! I c-can um, clean your room, d-do your h-homework, or-” Connor stopped him there, pressing his hand to Evan’s mouth in order to shush the teen’s rambling.

“Evan, I don’t want you to do any of that shit for me. Look, I just, I was gonna apologize for pushing you in the hall earlier, I felt real bad about it. So, sorry, I guess.”

“I-It’s okay, I deserved it, I-I laughed… B-but I wasn’t laugh-laughing at you! Y-you aren’t a f-freak.. I um- I don’t think you’re a-a freak..” Connor scoffed, but didn’t say anything about it. The two sat in the closet, not saying anything, or even looking at each other, as Evan’s breathing got relatively quieter. Connor didn’t even notice he was still breathing loudly. Connor’s eyes roamed around the small closet, before landing back on Evan. His eyes were looking down, as his fingers picked at his feathers. Connor’s eyes landed on the blonde’s casted arm, realizing how blank it was.

“So, no one’s signed your cast.” Evan slightly startled at the sudden noise, as they had been quiet for at least two minutes. His eyes went to his cast, and then back to Connor, though he didn’t make eye contact, more just stared at the taller teen’s hoodie really.

“O-oh, yeah, n-no..”

“I’ll sign it.”

“Y-you really don’t h-have to.”

“Let me sign the damn cast Hansen. Got a sharpie?” Evan reached into his back pocket to fish out a sharpie, before handing it to Connor. Connor grabbed his arm and pulled it towards him, earning a small “ow” from Evan.

  
“Sorry.” He said, voice slightly muffled as he uncapped the marker with his teeth. The teen scrawled his name atop Evan’s cast, the large signature taking up most of the cast. Evan stared at the signature when he was done, a small smile forming on his face.

“Um, thanks..” Connor nodded, before he heard his phone begin to ring from inside his messenger bag. Reaching his arm out and into his bag to get it, he removed the device to see that it was Zoe calling. Glaring at his phone, he hung up, and tossed the device away from him. Evan watched the ordeal with very, very blue fucking eyes.

“Uhm, If-if you don’t m-mind me asking… what was th-that about?” Connor rolled his eyes, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Zoe, she probably wants me to come home. Fuck her.” Evan nodded slowly, looking to the ground.

“I-I mean, y-you don’t have t-to stay if you d-don’t want to.. I’m holding you up, a-aren’t I?” Connor shook his head, giving a small smirk to Evan.

“Nah, besides, I signed your cast. Now we can both pretend we have friends now, right?” Evan’s smile faltered, and his eyes grew dark, but that expression only lasted half a second, before going right back to normal again.

“Y-yeah.. p-pretend…” Connor nodded, before his plans on what he was going to do today crossed his mind.

“Oh, I just, I remembered I have to do something today.” Evan looked up at Connor, was that sadness in his eyes?

“I-it’s ok-okay. If you, if want to g-go, you can. Thanks for… for coming after me.” Connor nodded, he was nodding a lot today, and stood up, grabbing his phone and his bag. Evan stood as well, letting Connor exit the closet first, before following. Evan escorted the taller teen to the door, shrinking his wings first before he opened it. Connor turned to face Evan, looking down into his eyes. Evan stared back, with large blue orbs. Connor felt his heart beat faster, why did he find Evan cute? The brunette looked away first.

“So uh, Bye, I guess.”

“Y-yeah, Bye..” Connor turned and began walking away from the house, only turning to look back when he reached the end of the walkway. Evan stood there, smiling slightly as he waved. Connor swore he saw a halo atop the kid’s head.

“S-see you tomorrow!” Connor nodded, and turned around. He heard Evan shut the door.

Connor began to walk. He was halfway home with his thoughts as he realized something. He wouldn’t see Evan tomorrow. Stupid Evan with his stupid cute face, his stupid squishy cheeks and his stupid freckles. His stupid blue eyes and fluffy blonde hair. His stupid kissable looking lips. Connor did not think about how cute Evan was the whole walk home, no. Definitely not. After reaching his house, stepping inside, getting yelled at and going to his room, Connor realized something else. He definitely did not have a crush on that stupid angel. He wouldn’t see Evan tomorrow, he thought as he waited until his family was asleep to grab his mother’s pills from the medicine cabinet. He would not see Evan tomorrow, he thought as he snuck out of the house and travelled to the park on that late night. He would not see Evan tomorrow, he thought as he made his way to a nearby park and sat under a tree.

He would not see Evan tomorrow.

  
Because Connor Murphy would not be alive tomorrow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can you guys spot what Connor did wrong when first dealing with Evan’s panic attack?


	3. Three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woah look finally an update on something! Sorry for the wait, school is ending soon and it's been hectic. Uh, Flowers And Stone has a chapter in the works but it's kinda weird and I’m trying to make it good, so just have this. Thanks for waiting, and reading, and not leaving me-

Evan didn't know why he had the urge to go outside, when it was damn near midnight. He just found himself, awake, all of a sudden. His mom had come home and collapsed in exhaustion a couple of minutes ago, so he was safe to sneak out of the house and into the night. The sky was shining with stars, visible only because all of the street lights were off. All the lights in the town were off. Everyone was in their homes, asleep. Evan thought this was, odd, because normally, cars would be driving around, teens out and about, way past or not before their curfews. Instead, it was just, silent. Evan found himself spreading his wings, and taking off into the air. He could fly high enough to graze the tops of trees with his fingertips, but he was low enough to where, if people were out and awake, they would see him. Evan didn't know where he was going. He let his instinct; instinct of what exactly, he didn't know, guide him. It wasn't long before he found himself at the local park. Ellison State Park, where he'd worked the past summer. It was fun being an assistant Park Ranger, he got to learn all the different types and names of the trees that he'd grown up loving so much. Trees will always be there for you. They'll never interrupt when you want to vent out your problems, they'll never judge you, they'll never make fun of your anxiety or your interests.

They'll never stop you from letting go of their branches.

Evan felt his body moving on its own, as he wandered deeper into the park. He found himself in one of the deeper parts of the forestry, where tours never went but where he usually worked. Where no one usually never checked, so no one was there when he fell. Evan's form and figure was illuminated by the rays of moonlight filtering between the trees. He didn't know how long he he'd been walking for, time seems to be an altered concept, but he knew that he was glad he was there when he came to a small clearing, and saw the slumped over figure at the base of the tree. Evan's heart sped up, his eyes widening and his " _help them_ " instinct kicking in. The perks of being half angel. He always got instincts, senses for different situations. If someone needed serious help, he'd go to them. If someone was sad or hurting immensely, he'd find something to cheer them up. If someone was in profound physical pain, he could take care of them. Even if no one at school ever really saw him, or knew him, or remembered him, many people were very glad for having him help out in their times of need. He could sense other angels near him. He'd only ever sensed one in his life, and that was his mother. Once, when he was twelve, she'd told him that there were other angels on Earth. Not many, but a few. They'd also fallen from Heaven, some of them maybe not by choice, some from banishment, and some from sheer rebellion. Evan felt his hands get sweaty, his legs were shaking. He had to help this person, he had to! Then why couldn't he move?

Connor felt himself getting weaker, colder. It was dark when he left, no streetlights or cars or anything. He didn't care. He came to this park with the urge and notion to die, but after the effects of the overdose began to kick in, he started regretting it. Not much, but at least a little. Connor began to get scared. He was going to die, oh god he was going to die. _Did he want to die_? His vision was blurry and his ears were ringing and his head was spinning, so he thought he was imagining things when he heard footsteps coming towards him. Gathering the strength to lift his head, his blurry vision saw the ethereal form of an angel standing a few feet away from him. Connor somehow found himself weakly reaching a hand to the form, but that took up energy and his hand fell, his vision beginning to swim. This was it, he was going to die, and that angel was going to take his soul to Hell, where it belongs. Connor didn't really believe in angels until he met Evan, but as soon as he saw the wings, his whole mind was blown. He was prepared to let the dark take him, when he felt another hand take his.

"Connor, Connor stay with me, okay? I-I called th-the ambulance, it's gonna be okay.. " Evan attempted to console the brunette, helping to keep him awake. Connor was confused, and cold. Why was Evan helping him? He could tell right away it was the blonde teen, as soon as he spoke. Even if his voice sounded like it was underwater. He was a monster, the school's resident psycho. He didn't deserve to be saved by a literal angel.

"M'so.. Cold..." Connor managed to mumble, and Evan nodded his head, an odd but in the moment frantic gesture.

"I know, I know Connor, i-it's bec-because you're d-d-dying," Evan strained to say the word, as if it hurt him to speak about death. The blonde removed his shirt, his freckled, _and actually pretty muscular holy shit_ , chest becoming exposed. Evan took off Connor's hoodie, his bright blue eyes momentarily landing on the many cuts and scars that littered the brunette's arms, before he pulled his own polo over the taller teen, and pulling the hoodie back on him. Connor took note of Evan's wings still out in all their glory, and though he was out of it and confused, he still had enough sense to remember that the teen did not want to be caught.

"Hide...... Wings..?" Evan looked back to his feathered appendages, and then back to Connor.

"It's okay, I kn-know what t-to do. N-now, come on." Evan stood up, only to bend down again, and hoist Connor into his arms, carrying him bridal style. The pain that spread through Evan's broken arm was ignored, as saving Connor's life definitely came first. Connor instinctively curled into the blonde's chest, a small part of his brain astonished that Evan could pick up his long and lanky body. Evan spread his wings, raising them up, before giving them a flap, strong enough to lift the two off the ground. Evan continued to flap his wings, and he fluttered a few feet off the park floor. The blonde then leaned forward, gripped Connor tighter, and began to fly, weaving through the trees as he made his way towards the front of the park. The sound of ambulances coming closer could be heard, and they could be seen coming around the corner down the street just as Evan landed at the front of the park. The blonde angel gently placed Connor down onto the grass, and the last thing Connor saw before Evan retreated behind the trees, was the teen smiling at him.

"It'll all be okay." Echoed through his ears and around his head, as the brunette was loaded onto the ambulance to be worked on. The doctors and nurses were saying the same things to him, but for some reason, Connor could only hear those words in Evan's voice. Those words only mattered when Evan said it. And Connor wanted to hear those words again.  
************  
It had been three days since Connor had been admitted into the hospital, and Evan was beyond worried as he walked through the halls at school. Was he dead? Was he going to die? Did Evan get there too late? The blonde could feel his feathers rustle under his shirt, and he turned around in time to see Jared approaching him. The glasses wearing teen groaned, throwing his head back dramatically.

"I can never scare you! How the hell do you do that, every time! I just wanna see you scream like a girl, just once!" Evan just stared, his hands pulling and tugging at his shirt. Jared took note of this, and stared at Evan quizzically.

"What's got your panties in a twist? Do you have a presentation coming up or some shit?" Evan shook his head, though the thought of a presentation coming up made him quite frightened as well.

"N-no, I just, um, I-I'm worried, a-about a f-friend.." Friend? Was that what he and Connor were? Do people become friends after saving the person's life? Jared's eyes widened. Evan thought he saw hurt, but he wasn't sure. He saw more surprise.

"You? Have a friend? Who could it be? Connor Murphy or some shit?" It was then that Jared's eyes, for the first time in three days, looked to Evan's cast. Evan didn't know how he didn't notice it before, Connor had written his name all across the surface.

"Holy. Shit. You and the school shooter are totally fucking behind my back, aren't you? That's why he practically punched a hole in a locker to find out where you lived." Evan's face grew red and flustered, and he began shaking his head frantically.

"N-no! Noth-nothing like that!! We just, I just, he just... He apologized f-for push-pushing me on the f-first day of sch-school, and s-signed my cast.. And.. And he what?" Jared chuckled, pushing his glasses up his face.

"Your little freak boyfriend threatened me after school the first day, punched a locker trying to find out where you lived. I told him, obviously since he signed your cast, and pushed him away." Evan flinched. There's that word again. _Freak_. He'd practically hated it so much, it became an unholy word in his system, causing the blonde to flinch in some way whenever it was mentioned. Unholy words are fairly common for Evan and Heidi, there are some that cause the two angels to get a reaction out of them. Evan averted his eyes to the ground, his hands flying up to fiddle with his backpack straps.

"He's, he's not a f-freak.." He mumbles this under his breath, and Jared notices. The boy raises an eyebrow, crossing his arms over his chest.

"No, wait, what was that?" Evan jumped slightly, and shook his head quickly.

"N-no, nothing. Forget, forget I said any-anything. I'm gonna, I'm gonna go t-to class.." And with that, he took off, making quick strides down the not so crowded hallway to his first period class. As Evan sat in his seat, he figured he'd go visit Connor at the hospital today. It was the least he could do.

After the school day had ended, Evan found himself walking in the direction of the hospital, using his mental knowledge of the town to remember it's location. That, and the fact that he'd gone many times with his mother. As he walked through the front doors and up to the desk, he was greeted with a friendly face. Thank god. One of the nurses who knew him because she worked with his mom was at the desk, and she gave the blonde a wide smile.

"Hello Evan! Here to visit Heidi?" Evan pulled at his shirt, looking down, before looking back up to the nurse.

"U-um, no, actually.. I'm here t-to visit a f-friend? Um, C-Connor, Connor Murphy." The nurse, Nurse Peggy, looked down to her computer, clicking away on it a few times, before looking back up at Evan.

"So you're friends with the Murphy boy huh? I'm glad you're making friends Evan. He's in room 420. I think his parents came in about an hour ago, but the nurse that saw them and I just switched shifts, so I dunno if they're still here or not. Anyways, have a good day!" Evan nodded and silently thanked her, before making his way to the elevator to get to the floor that Connor was on. The suicide wards, of course. Connor did try to take his own life after all. Either way, Evan didn't like the suicide ward. Reminded him too much of his own... Event. As Evan approached the room, he almost turned tail and ran when he saw Zoe Murphy sitting outside the door. Unfortunately, he could not. As Zoe spotted him as soon as he approached.

“Oh, Evan?” Evan froze mid turn-around, and looked back at his used-to-be longtime crush.

“U-Uhm, yes? Yes, hi. Hello.” Zoe quirked an eyebrow, and Evan took note that her eyes were not red. She had not been crying. But, her brother almost died, shouldn't she cry?

“What are you doing here? Are you visiting someone too?” Evan felt his heart rate quicken. How would she feel if he told her that he was here to see her brother?

“Er, well, you see, my uh, mom w-works here a-and I uh, I was al-also coming t-to visit C-Connor, and s-see how he was d-doing..” Zoe seemed confused at this, and Evan really wished he was somewhere else rather than here. Her stare was enough to give him chills up his spine. Though, last year, just getting her to look at him would have filled him with butterflies. He'd given up his crush when he made the decision to climb that tree. Zoe would never love him back or notice him, why should he keep his hopes up?

“Why do you want to see my brother? Didn't he push you on the first day of school?” Evan nodded at this, but spoke anyway.

“Y-yeah, b-but it was a m-misunderstanding, a-and he apologized, a-and I al-also sor-sorta saved, saved h-his life a-and I was j-just worried that ma-maybe he wasn't, wasn't alive and I c-came to visit and oh my god I'm r-rambling I'm so s-s-sorry.” Dammit. She didn't need to know all that. Now she knows that Evan saved Connor's life. She was gonna ask how he knew his life needed saving. What was he gonna tell her? “Oh, my instincts we're acting up and I flew all the way to the park and found him, speaking of flying I'm an angel by the way”? That was never gonna work, she'd definitely call the government on him. Evan didn't know why, he just felt like Zoe would have the number to the government in her back pocket.

“Saved him? What do you mean? How did you even know where he was?”

Cone on, think of an excuse, think of an excuse, think of an excuse-

“W-well you see, I c-couldn’t sleep, s-so I decided to t-take a walk in the p-park. And I was j-just walking, and I saw h-his footprints, and, and I followed them and I fo-found him. I e-ended up c-carrying him to the-the front of the park, and, and calling the ambulance..” Zoe stared at Evan with a hard look, and Evan shuffled nervously and uncomfortably under the gaze. After at least two minutes, Zoe looked away, shrugging and muttering “whatever”. Evan felt his shoulders relax, and walked towards the hospital door. He would've asked Zoe if he should go in, but she'd pulled out her phone and was now tapping away, so he decided against it. Evan reached his hand out and twisted the doorknob, pushing open the door as he did so. Peeking his head in, the first thing that Evan saw was Connor on the hospital bed, staring blankly ahead, the look in his eyes giving Evan the impression that he was disassociating. The next thing the blonde saw was Connor's parents, standing at the foot of his bed. His father was talking to him about something, and the mother was just looking worried, on the verge of tears. Her eyes were red, maybe she had already been crying.

“Connor, you can't just disappear for three days, only for us to find you in the hospital! Do you know what a waste of money that is? Connor, do you hear me talking to you?” It was then that the mother seemed to notice Evan, who had entered the room, and quietly shut the door behind him. She tapped her husband on the arm, grabbing his attention and diverting it to Evan. The blonde squirmed in place a little, feeling uncomfortable under the intense gazes. This was worse than Zoe.

“Hello! Who are you?” The woman asked, putting a smile on her face. Evan didn't know how she could smile so easily.

“U-uhm, I'm, um, I'm a f-friend of C-Connor’s. S-sorry if y-you were bus-busy. I understand i-if you'd like m-me to leave..”

“No, no! Please, stay! You're really Connor's friend? I'm Cynthia, his mother.” Cynthia walked forwards and introduced herself, ushering Evan over to the hospital bed. The sandy brown haired woman gestured to her husband, who continued to hold Evan under his scrutinizing gaze.

“This is Larry, my husband.” Evan gave a timid wave, his eyes darting between the man and the floor. Larry narrowed his eyes, before he finally spoke up.

“How do we know you aren't a drug dealer? You seem awfully jumpy. Are you high or something?” Evan seemed shocked at this accusation, unsure of what brought it on.

“N-No! I don't, I don't do drugs, I-I have an-anxiety, sorry. I uh, I've n-never sm-smoked a-a drug, n-no, I just, I'm just his f-friend. I uh, I found h-him, i-in the park a f-few days ago, and wanted to see h-how he was doing..” The blonde trained off, eyes darting to the floor. His wings shifted uncomfortably under his shirt, and his hands fiddled with the collar of his polo. A smile spread across Cynthia's face, and tears welled in her eyes.

“So you were the one who found our son? Where was he? Why was he in the park?” Her hands clasped together, and Evan gulped. His eyes shifted from Cynthia, to Larry, to Connor, who was still staring off to where his father once stood. Evan didn't know if Connor was still out of it, or if he was actually listening, but he also didn't know what Connor would think of him if he told them about the overdose.

“I.. Uh.. He..” Evan noticed Connor nod his head, it was subtle, it was slow, but he noticed. Connor wanted Evan to tell them.

“He uh.. Tried to um.. Ov-overdose.. On some, some pills.. I uh, I f-found him b-before it was, it was too late..” The tears that had welled in Cynthia's eyes started to fall, and she turned back to her son, who's eyes had turned to them.

“Oh honey, is this true? Wh-why would you _do_ that?” Connor started to open his mouth to talk, and Evan guessed to explain why he wanted to kill himself, but he didn't get to do so, because Larry got to him first.

“It was for attention Cynthia, just like the last couple times. I swear Connor, if you can't just act like a _normal_ kid instead of this weird phase you've got going on, you're gonna be in major trouble!” Connor's face quickly faded from blank to angry in a matter of seconds, and his fists clenched so tightly, Evan knew that there were gonna be bruises there later. The brunettes hand flew out and grabbed the first thing it could find, a pen, and chucked it. Evan yelped and avoided the writing tool from narrowly hitting him in the face.

“Get….. Out….” Connor muttered, but no one heard. Cynthia tried to step forwards to take Connor's hands, but he stopped her by throwing another pen.  

“Get.. Out..! Get.. Out! Get out, get out get out! _GET OUT_!!” Connor screamed, and was now throwing everything. The things on the bedside table, the pillows and covers and sheets. Connor's parents avoided the things and ducked out of the room, and Evan avoided a tissue box from hitting his face.

“C-Connor, please-”

“ _I SAID GET THE FUCK OUT EVAN_!” Connor screamed at the boy, and he obeyed. Evan ran out the room, tears welling in his eyes and streaming down his face as he ran down the hall.


	4. Four

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We learn a little bit more about angels near the end of the chapter

Evan continued to run. He thought he heard Zoe call after him, but he was too busy running. Evan stumbled through the nearest fire exit, mainly because he knew there were no cameras. The blonde sobbed loudly and ran up the stairs, ripping his shirt open as his wings grew and unfolded from his back. The hospital was huge, and as Evan made his way up the stairs, he flapped and jumped his way up here and there, in order to get to his destination. His wings kept hitting and getting scraped by the hard concrete walls. He didn't care. Evan burst through the fire exit door on the hospital roof, spreading his wings wide as he sobbed and hiccuped. The teen ran faster now, gaining momentum, before he jumped onto the ledge of the roof, and jumped off. His wings beat once, twice, and in less than two seconds, he had disappeared above the cloud line. Fast enough so that no one could tell what he was if they did see him, but slow enough for him to be able to stop and breathe once he got above the clouds.

“He-he ha-hates me, I kn-kn-knew it..!” Evan sobbed, his vision still blurred and obscured by tears. The angel teen darted off once more, heading somewhere to hide.   
*********  
It had been two hours since Connor's meltdown, and he'd managed to calm down enough to realize the mistake he had made. He'd allowed Evan to tell his parents what he had done, and then took his anger out on him! How stupid could he get? Connor groaned, and begun to hit himself in the face with his pillow, before he heard the door to his hospital room open. He looked up, with high hopes that it was Evan. It was not. It was Zoe, and she looked like she'd been crying. Connor mentally snorted. Zoe? Crying? For _him_? Impossible.

“What do you want?” The brunette spoke, his voice filled with annoyance. Zoe shuffled from one foot to the other, looking down at her hands. The light brunette didn't know what to say, well, rather she did, she just didn't know how to say it.   
“I.. Uh..” Connor rolled his eyes, running a hand through his hair.

“Christ, you sound like Evan. Spit it out, or go the fuck away.” Zoe took a deep breath, walking over to her brother's bedside and pulling up a chair. She sat in it, staring down at her hands for about a minute, before looking up at him.

“I.. Are you.. Okay?” Connor stared at her like that question was the most obvious thing in the world.

“I'm in a hospital bed Zoe. I'm a monster Zoe. Of course I'm not fucking okay.” Zoe's eyes began to water again, and her hands began to fidget in her lap.

“I'm.. Sorry about calling you that.. A monster. You.. You can be an asshole, and really, really fucking scary a lot of the time when you're high but.. If I knew how much it got to you.. How it almost made you… you… I wouldn't have, I wouldn't have said it.” The two were quiet for a bit, Connor staring at his younger sister, and Zoe staring at her hands. Finally, Connor spoke up.

“So.. You know what happened? Did mom and dad tell you?” Zoe shook her head, looking back up to meet her sibling's eye.

“No uh, they left after you yelled at them. And after Evan took off crying down the hallway. I um, I was eavesdropping before.. When I heard mom asking. And that made me realize that, I could have actually lost you. Sure, I hate you but…” Zoe looked back down, the tears now deciding it was the perfect time to roll down her face. Connor stared sadly at his little sister. It hurt to see her hurting so much, because of him. Because of what he almost did. Zoe wiped at her eyes, her voice cracking as she finished her sentence.

“.. But I wouldn't know how to feel if I lost you.” The tension in the room seemed to almost dissipate, as Connor stared at his younger sister, watching her cry. He looked down to his hands, watching them close into a fist on his covers.

“Zoe I… I’m sorry for being such an asshole. For making you so scared of me, you’d rather stay locked in your room than anywhere else in the house, unless it’s dinner or breakfast. I guess I thought that, if I, if I died, I wouldn't be anyone's problem anymore.”

“Well you'd be my problem! I'd be known as “the sister of the dead kid”, people would probably try to give fake comforts, lying to me about how they “knew you” or how they were “close to you”. I'd probably never be able to even try to get close to you again Connor! And I want to! I've wanted to… but….” Zoe had started off yelling, startling the brunette, tears streaming down her face. But soon her voice quieted and cracked once more, she couldn't finish her sentence. Connor looked into his sister's teary eyes, and finished it for her.

“But we're a million worlds apart.” Zoe nodded, using the palms of her hands to wipe away the tears.

“And, I don't know how I would even start.” The two finally sat in silence, the words exchanged hovering in the air. After a long moment, Zoe spoke, her gaze on her hands that were folded in her lap.

“I'm not gonna forgive you for everything easily, asshole.” Connor chuckled, though this one had just a hint of humor.

“I don't expect you to.” And that was that.   
******  
Healing takes time, and it was gonna take a while for Connor to be deemed stable enough to be released from the hospital. He was going to be put on meds, and be seeing the hospital therapist, and Zoe decided that she would talk to her parents so they could allow Connor to get the help he needs. In the meantime, someone else had a problem on her hands.

Heidi Hansen walked into her home late that night, exhausted from the day's events. She toed off her shoes at the door, threw her keys on the kitchen counter and her bag on the table, and began to trudge up the stairs. The blonde woman noticed her son's door was cracked open slightly, and she walked over to check on him. She was not expecting what she saw when she peered into the room. Evan's bed was empty, still the same way it had been when he left for school this morning. The woman's motherly instincts kicked in, and she began to panic.

“Evan? Evan?!” Heidi began to rush around the house, opening every door and checking inside every room. Evan wasn't here. Breathing quickening to nearly match the pace of her heartbeat, Heidi pulled out her phone with fumbling hands. First she called the Kleinman residence.

“Hello?” Mary Kleinman's voice answered over the phone.

“Hi Mary, I'm sorry, is Evan with you?” Heidi's voice was clearly panicked, shaking and threatening to break.

“No, he hasn't been here all day. Is he not at home?”

“No, no, oh my god, I have to go Mary.” Heidi hung up, then tried to call Evan's number. It went straight to voicemail, his phone must be dead. Heidi was full blown panicking now, her halo glowing and flickering brightly as her wings flapped in panic. Like a scared bird. The angel mother finally dialed the police, tears streaming down her cheeks as she spoke into the phone.

“911, what's your emergency?”

“Hi, yes, please help, I can't find my son! He's, I came home and he wasn't, he's not in bed and-”

“Ma'am, please, calm down. What is your son's name, and what does he look like?”

“H-His name is Evan H-Hansen, he's, he's 17, he's 5’8, he's got sandy blonde hair, bright blue eyes, tanned skin and a face full of freckles. He was wearing a blue polo shirt and khaki pants, and he's got really bad anxiety. Please, you have to help me find him, if he has a panic attack and can't take his meds, he, he..”

“What's your address miss?”

“5465 Schuyler Street.”

“It'll be alright ma'am. We've sent a patrol car to your house and we're sending a few others out to look for him. Please, don't worry, we'll find your son.” Heidi nodded, even though the woman on the phone couldn't see the action.

“Thank you, thank you.” Heidi hung up, and was finally unable to hold her cellular device any longer. It slipped through her shaking fingers, and she stepped over it, beginning to pace in her living room. Where was Evan? What happened to him? Is he hurt? Is he panicking? Has he been kidnapped? Did the government find him? All these thoughts rushing through Heidi's head made her panic even more, and she just barely managed to remind herself to hide her wings and halo before the police arrived. They knocked loudly on her door, and Heidi rushed over and flung it open. Two officers entered her house with smiles on their faces.

“Good evening ma'am, you're Heidi Hansen correct?” The blonde nodded, wiping at the tears on her face with her sleeve.

“I'm sorry, I just, I'm so worried for him, this has never happened and..” The policewoman nodded, placing a hand on the grieving mother's shoulder.

“We understand. I'm Officer Sawyer, this is my partner Officer Dean. We're gonna help find your son.” Heidi nodded once more, silently praying that Evan would be alright.

                                                    _A week later…_  
Connor stared out the window of his room, the door to it now gone. The house had been pretty much baby-proofed, and everything dangerous from his room had been removed. Connor didn’t care about that, (well he kinda cared, because his weed was gone, but he’s supposed to be recovering from it anyways), but more so worried about the blonde angel who had saved him. Who he’d yelled at, and made cry. Evan Hansen had been missing for a week, and his mom was in despair. Connor had just gotten home today, but he heard the news from his sister three days ago. The brunette immediately felt guilty, but he couldn’t do anything from the confinement of his hospital room. The one thing that annoyed him about being back home is that his mother kept checking in on him every five minutes, as if he was going to try to kill himself any second now. Connor had rolled his eyes at that, it wasn’t like there was anything in the immediate vicinity to attempt anyways. That, and he had promised his sister that he would try to get better. The five minute mark rolled around, and just on time, Cynthia poked her head into Connor’s room.

“Connor, sweetie? Do you need anything? Something to eat, or drink?” Unlike the other times she’d checked on him, Connor actually decided to speak up this time.

“Hey can I.. can I go outside?” Cynthia immediately grew panicked, and Connor turned around and gave her an annoyed look.

“I’m not gonna like, go out and fucking throw myself off a bridge. I need to find someone. I’ll take Zoe with me.” Cynthia bit her lip, her hands fidgeting with the sides of her shirt.

“I.. I don't know Connor..”

“Mom, please? He could… he could need me! I need to apologise..” It was silent between the two.

A beat passed.

Cynthia sighed, tucking her hair behind her ear.

“Take Zoe. Be back before it gets dark, you hear me?” Connor nodded, before jumping up and running out of his room, and towards his sister’s. Knocking on the door, he listened as the guitar music from inside the room stopped, and footsteps padded over to the door. It opened, showing Zoe standing there, hair in a ponytail, pink T-shirt on over a pair of blue jean shorts.

“What is it Connor?”

“I need you to come with me, we’re gonna go find Evan.” Zoe cocked an eyebrow, but didn’t argue as she gestured for her older brother to start walking. The two siblings made their way down the stairs of their large home, and to the front door. Pulling on their shoes, Connor was the first out the door, Zoe right after him as she grabbed her car keys. They slid into the small pastel blue car, Zoe starting the engine. Connor had always hated the colour of this car, but now, it reminded him of Evan's eyes.

 

Why did he think that?

 

“Where do you think he'd even be?” Zoe asked, pulling out of the driveway. “The police can't find him, what makes you think we'll be able to?” Connor thought about this. Evan probably didn't know the police were only looking to bring him home, he must think they'd be coming to take him to a lab or something. Thinking back to the two teen's first encounter, Connor thought about how Evan liked to hide in areas surrounded by trees.

“The kid likes trees, maybe he'll be in an area surrounded by them.” Zoe rolled her eyes, an annoyed and sarcastic look appearing on her face.

“Oh yeah, like there are so few areas with a bunch of trees surrounding it Connor. We practically live in a forest! There's the park, which has a ton of trees, the patch of trees behind the school, the actual forest on the cliff our town is under, and then there's the abandoned orchard we used to go to a few miles outside of town. And I doubt that in the state Evan was in when he left the hospital, he'd be able to make it to either the orchard or the forest.” Connor averted his eyes to look out the window, resting his cheek on his hand.

“Oh, you'd be surprised at how far he could go..” The brunette muttered under his breath.

“What was that?”

“Nothing.” Connor continued to think of which of the three areas Evan might go to. He wouldn't go behind the school, or he would've been found already. The park was a good idea, but considering that Evan found Connor in that park, he wasn't sure if the boy would want to go back there. He could barely tell Cynthia and Larry that their own son had overdosed. The forest would probably scare him to death, so it had to be the orchard.

“Let's go to the orchard, I have a feeling we'll find him there.” Zoe raised an eyebrow, though not taking her eyes off the road.

“The orchard. Are you sure?” Connor sighed and rolled his eyes, clenching his fist slightly.

“Yes Zoe, I'm fucking sure.” That sentence came out harsher than he'd intended, and Connor sucked in a large amount of air through his teeth. Zoe went quiet, and from the corner of his eye, he could see her knuckles turning white from the hard grip she had on the steering wheel.

“I'm sorry.. Oh, wait, stop here.” Zoe obeyed, and as soon as the car rolled to a stop in front of the small glass station, Connor got out the car. He walked in, looking around the aisles. He didn't know what Evan Hansen ate, and he was pretty sure that the kid hadn't eaten all week, so he had to get something for the kid. Finally deciding on a few ham sandwiches (yeah their gas station sells ham sandwiches sue me) and at least three bottles of water, Connor bought the items and went back out to the car. He was slightly relieved to see that Zoe hadn't driven off and left him. Getting back into the car, Connor placed the bag of food at his feet, and nodded in approval for Zoe continue driving. She did, and as they turned onto the road that lead straight to the orchard, Zoe spoke up.

“Why'd you get the food?” Connor gave her a look that said “are you stupid”?

“Well, obviously, Evan most likely hasn't eaten in a week, and there's nothing to eat at the orchard but rotten apples, which, one cannot eat. He probably got water from the well that's still there, but I doubt that water was good enough, so I got him food and water.”

“Makes sense.” The two sat in silence during the drive to the orchard, neither of them really knowing what to say. Once they pulled up to the rusted gates of the abandoned orchard, the two siblings got out the car. Connor walked up to the gate first, Zoe trailing behind after making sure the car was properly locked.

“Connor, seriously, what makes you think Evan would be here?” Zoe sighed, rubbing her hands against her arms. She wished she'd worn a jacket today, it was sort of windy.

“I told you, I'm pretty sure. Come on.” Connor shifted the plastic bag in his hands, before promptly beginning to scale the fence of the orchard. Stopping at the top, he tethered for a second, trying to regain his balance, before swinging his legs over the other side and twisting his body, turning around to once again face the fence as he climbed back down. Once Connor was on the other side, he made quick work of picking the lock on the gate and getting it open for Zoe.

“Where you learned to do all that, I'm not going to even ask.” The younger Murphy chimed, stepping through the rusted gate.

“Good.” The two siblings walked through the orchard, calling for Evan. Connor could just about make out tracks in the dirt, they were pretty recent too. A sign that someone was definitely here. A noise in the distance proved him right, and before they could advance any further, Connor turned to face his younger sister.

“Okay Zoe, so, you don't know this yet but it's very important that what you're most likely about to see, you tell _no one_ about, you don't scream, and you don't do anything to make Evan more scared than he definitely is okay?” Zoe's face contorted into one of confusion.

“What are you talking about? What's going on? What am I gonna see?”

“Just, promise. Okay?” Connor sighed, running a hand through his hair.

“Yeah, sure, whatever.” The two teens continued to walk, soon coming to a large structure that looked sort of like a nest. It was large enough to fit a human and a half, and tall enough to where Connor had to stand on his tiptoes to see over it. The brunette raised an eyebrow. Angels made nests? That's… Strange. Connor gestured for Zoe to follow him, before beginning to walk towards the nest.

“Evan? Are you there?” Rustling inside the nest could be heard, seeming to shuffle closer to where the two Murphy siblings stood, before finally a pair of hands gripped the edge of the nest, and bright blue eyes and a head of messy sandy blonde hair peered over.

“C-Con-Connor?” Connor nodded up at the boy, his heart swelling with some strange feeling. Connor was.. Relieved to see the blonde angel alive.

“Evan, what are you doing in there?” Evan’s eyes darted around, not focusing on the tall boy.

“I.. Th-this, this is m-my, my n-nest..”

“Can we come in?” Zoe spoke up, and Evan startled, seeming to have finally noticed her. He ducked back into the nest quickly for a few seconds, before slowly peeking his head over once more.

“Uh-uhm, sure..” The blonde ducked back down into the nest, and Connor turned to his sister and smirked. Zoe rolled her eyes, and walked over to the wall of the nest, beginning to climb. Connor put the plastic bag between his teeth, and gripped onto the side of the nest. It was pretty sturdy, despite its appearance. Connor followed his sister as she climbed, making sure she didn't fall. When they reached the top of the nest, Zoe's eyes widened in shock at the sight. Evan sat in the middle of the nest, hunched in on himself as he had his large wings around him. The boy was preening and grooming his feathers, setting aside the ones that had come out into a neat pile. Connor turned to his sister, made a zipping motion over his lips, and then jumped the rest of the way into the nest. Evan looked up at the boy, his face sort of dirty, his clothes wrinkled, shirt torn and very dirty. His hair had a few leaves and strands of grass in it, and it was very messy. Surprisingly, the only things that weren't dirty were the teenage angel's wings, despite the red scratches and injuries on a few parts, and he still smelled like his usual self too. Like vanilla and lemon with a hint of anxiety.

“Hey Ev. I uh, brought you food.” Connor set down the bag, then stepped a bit away from it, sitting down and crossing his legs. Evan looked at the plastic bag, then back to Connor, then down at his wings.

“I'm uh, I'm n-not really- not really h-hungry…” Zoe sat near Connor, though not directly next to him. At least a few steps away.

“But Evan, you haven't eaten in like a week! There's nothing for you to eat out here!” Evan shook his head, gaze glancing to Zoe before looking back down.

“There's, uh, there's a r-river, it um, it has fish.. But I, I can go a w-week without, without food..” Zoe narrowed her eyes at the blonde. She suddenly felt like an overprotective mom.

“Evan Hansen, if you don't eat this food, I will shove it down your throat.” Evan's eyes widened, but he made no move to grab the food. Zoe sighed.

“Connor, hold my purse.” Connor did as he was told, and watched in shock as Zoe leapt for Evan, causing the young angel to scream. His wings flapped like a panicked bird in a cage, but Zoe paid no mind. She had grabbed one of the sandwiches from the bag, unwrapped it, and was now trying to force Evan's mouth open. Connor moved over to barely dodge the swipe of Evan's wing as he flapped, watching with a large grin on his face as his sister and friend struggle. A thought struck him. Friend? That was new. Was Evan his friend? No Evan didn't want to be friends with someone like Connor. But if they weren't friends, would Connor have come to find Evan? Shaking the thoughts from his head, the brunette looked back up to see that Zoe had moved behind Evan, wrapping her legs around his torso as she held him in a headlock, using her hands to force his mouth wide open.

“Connor, take this sandwich and shove it down his throat!!” Connor moved forwards and took the sandwich from his sister, and turned to stuff the item down Evan's mouth. His eyes widened in surprise as he looked into the gaping hole. Evan didn't really smile much, and Connor now knew why. When one opens their mouth slightly, or talks quietly, you can see a few of their teeth, but not the whole mouth. Evan probably knew that, and did his best not to talk, because past the few front normal teeth he had, the rest were rows of very sharp, almost shark-like teeth. Evan squirmed, trying to close his mouth. Connor shook himself out of his stupor and stuffed the sandwich down the teen's mouth, gesturing for Zoe to let go. She did, and Evan's mouth snapped shut with an audible click of teeth, and he blushed furiously as he chewed. Zoe stepped away and went to stand near her brother, finally processing the “he has wings” factor.

“Holy. Shit. Evan you have wings?!” Zoe exclaimed loudly, and the blonde audibly swallowed, a bit too harshly, as he started coughing and choking on the sandwich. Connor rushed over and gave the teen hard pats on the back, helping him breathe again. Connor looked over to Zoe and glared.

“See, I told you not to yell!” Zoe crossed her arms and glared back.

“I didn’t yell! I spoke very loudly!” Connor sighed and looked back down to Evan, who’s face was now as red as a tomato, and he was trying to hide in his wings.

“Evan, everyone was worried about you! Why did you disappear like that?” Evan didn’t look up, instead began picking at some of the plumage of his wings. The few rays of sunlight that beamed on them through the trees lit up Evan’s feathers in white and light blue.

“I uh, had a p-panic attack when y-you, when you yelled, and I, uh I ended up flying here, and um, I was t-t-too scared to, to come back, bec-because what if som-someone saw me f-flying? So I, so I st-stayed here.” Connor felt a pang of guilt in his heart. Evan ran away because of him. He knew he’d hurt the kid.

“I’m sorry about that.. for yelling. It’s just, my parents, or well, _Larry_ , he just, he pissed me off. And I kind of took it out on you.” Evan nodded, mumbling “it’s okay” under his breath. Zoe moved closer.

“How did you even survive out here? And, what are you? A bird? Is that why you made a nest?” Evan shook his head, curling in as far on himself as he could go.

“Uh no, I, um. I’m an angel. Half Angel. We uh, it’s kind of c-complicated. Some, some people think that ang-angels don’t make nests b-because we’re creatures of h-heaven. But uh, Angels were taught how to h-hunt and s-survive if they, if they ever ended up on earth. If we, if we didn’t live like the humans did, we live l-like birds, making n-nests to accommodate to o-our surroundings, having Sh-sharp teeth and claws t-to hunt for f-food. Uh, since I’m h-half human and h-half angel, I got some of th-the features, like the wings an-and the teeth. Mom had to, had to teach me the rest, like hunting, and f-flying, and us-using my magic…” Connor and Zoe listened in fascination, and when Evan finished, the two nodded in understanding. Connor sat next to the boy, slowly raising his hand to his wing, silently asking for permission. When Evan nodded, Connor began to pet the soft feathers, helping comfort the teenage angel.

“Well, we’ll stay here for a little bit, but then we have to take you home. Your mom has been devastated.” The brunette explained, and Evan nodded. The three teens sat in the nest, silently chatting away, as the sun burned brightly in the sky.


	5. Chapter Five

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So I finally updated oof, I think this chapter is long. Or is it short? Send ideas for what you want the next chapter to be about!
> 
> Some Zared development

Connor and Zoe had dropped Evan off at home, his mom flinging open her door and hugging him tightly, tears streaming her face. Heidi had thanked them multiple times, offering to repay them in any way. Connor and Zoe had simply smiled nervously and kindly denied. After Heidi shut the door, and the two siblings got into their car and drove home, Connor went straight up to his room, claiming he was tired. Zoe walked into the living room and plopped down on the couch, pulling out her phone. She opened up her social media, scrolling through Instagram and liking random posts. There were a few with jazz instruments, a few with aesthetics, and a few… wait. Is that? Jared?? Eating…. Is he eating a bathbomb? Zoe scrunched her eyebrows together as a flurry of emotions coursed through her body. Worry, confusion, but mostly worry. She found herself navigating to Jared’s profile, and starting to message him.

 

zxemxrphy: Jared, why the hell are you eating a bathbomb?

 

insanelycooljared: well why not? they're surprisingly cronchy 

 

zxemxrphy: Jared,,,,,, you could die from that,,, 

 

insanelycooljared: pshh, nahh, not me!

 

zxemxrphy: Jesus Christ Jared don't make me call an ambulance

 

insanelycooljared: for you or for me? because I recall only one of us having a heart attack while admiring the other ;;)))

 

Zoe snickered at that bad attempt at flirting, covering her grinning mouth with her hand. Her face flushed red and she felt her ears and cheeks becoming warm from the blush. A few seconds passed, and Zoe registered her reaction to the text. Did she.. Did she blush and giggle? Like a damn schoolgirl? No. No way. Zoe did not do that. The light brunette shook her head and looked back down at her device as it pinged once more, Jared sending her another message. It was a picture of him, looking like he was going to eat another bath bomb. 

 

zxemxrphy: Jared!

 

insanelycooljared: ;;))) try and stop me

 

The two teens continued to text and talk, sending memes and such back and forth to one another. Zoe was honestly surprised that Jared had such good taste in meme, and not shitty ones like she had expected. She was pretty sure that Jared was surprised that she even knew what a meme was. A couple hours later, Cynthia and Larry came home, Larry heading straight to his office, and Cynthia passing Zoe on her way to the kitchen to begin dinner. 

 

“Hello sweetie, who are you texting?” Zoe startled and sat up, face red as she shoved her phone face down into the couch. 

 

“Just! I'm just texting my friend, Alana, no big deal,,” Zoe chuckled nervously, averting her eyes away from her mother. Cynthia raised an eyebrow, but shrugged off the odd reaction, continuing to make her way to the kitchen. Zoe sighed in relief, but jumped right back up when she heard her mother speaking again. Cynthia poked her head out from the kitchen, smirk on her face. 

 

“I hope you invite this boy over to dinner sometime Zo, I'll make something special just for him!” At that point, Zoe had enough with the teasing, and ran upstairs to her room. 

********

After thanking the Murphy siblings and closing the door, Heidi rounded on her son, throwing her arms up. 

 

“Where were you?! I was so worried, I thought something horrible had happened!!” Evan shrunk back, eyes darting to his feet. His hands pulled and tugged on the torn edge of his shirt, wearing it down even more. He couldn’t find the strength in him to look back up, and look into his mother’s eyes. He had been gone for a week after all, and the cops had been searching everywhere for him. This is exactly why he wished he had climbed higher, his mother wouldn’t have to deal with him being here. Wouldn’t have to deal with him worrying her all the time. But unfortunately, his wings semi-slowed his fall, only causing him to break an arm. 

 

“I, uh.. I just.. I was..” Evan tried to explain, but found his words getting stuck in his throat and becoming jumbled, and he was suddenly very aware of how fast his heart was beating and how sweaty his face was and then he was aware of Heidi, who had rushed forwards and embraced him in a  _ really tight  _ hug. Evan’s eyes widened as she did so and, despite the uncomfortable position as his body was sort of arched backwards from the force his mother had flung herself at him, he slowly raised his arms and hugged her back. They stayed embraced in the hug for what seemed like forever, before Heidi finally let go. 

 

“Well, I sorta stress baked while you were gone, so there’s a week’s worth of cookies, cakes, and cupcakes in the kitchen. What do you say we take them all into the living room, make a pillow fortress and binge watch Netflix? I’ve got the next three days off before I’ll be called back into work, meaning I’m going to have to take a ton of extra shifts to catch up, but in the meantime, we can spend these rare few days we have together!” The blonde woman smiled excitedly, her tired face morphing into one of pure excitement. Evan nodded, and began to go upstairs to shower and get changed into something, well, cleaner. Heidi rushed off into the living room to begin creating the pillow fort. After turning the shower water to the way he liked it; really hot but not scalding hot, and stripping off his clothes, Evan sighed as he enlarged his wings once more and stepped into the water. The blonde boy sighed as he placed his forehead against the cool tile of the wall of the shower, the water raining down onto his back and soaking into his feathers. The untreated scars and scratches on the tips of his wings sort of stung with the addition of the hot water, but Evan ignored that and got lost in his own head. Which, is usually a bad idea really. Evan’s mind rushed and thought over a ton of things, why Connor and Zoe saved him and what would Zoe think of him now and how he had to tell his mom this and how much of a burden he was to her and the passing thought of how long would it take him to drown if he attempted to? Not that it would work, angel’s lungs are three times bigger than human lungs, more spacious, so they can fly in the air without losing breath. The higher you are above the clouds the thinner the air is after all. 

 

Evan shook these thoughts from his head and sat up from off the shower wall. He turned to the water, grabbed his loofa, and began to scrub.

*********

When Evan returned to school on Tuesday, he was, for lack of a better word, nervous. I mean, of course he’s always nervous and anxious and overthinking things and sweaty, but more so nervous because he hadn’t seen Connor, Zoe nor Jared during the weekend plus Monday, because he spent all that time with his mom, and didn’t really know what he would do when he saw them. Both Murphy siblings knew what he was, and he sort of figured they’d probably want to know more. Maybe he could avoid them, and he already enjoyed to avoid Jared sometimes. So he did. He avoided them during First period, where Jared sat next to him. He avoided them second period, where Connor sat in the back of the class, he instead opted to stare out the window and think about killing himself. Not actually, but more in a passing, abstract sense. Like “if I fell out this window would it be enough to kill me?” Though, granted, he’s learned his lesson with heights. He didn’t have any of them for third period which was AP Environmental Science, but he did have Alana but he didn’t think she cared. He couldn’t avoid them much longer during lunchtime though. 

 

Evan had managed to make it halfway to the library, before he heard a voice calling out his name from behind him. Startling a bit, he turned to see Jared down the hall, waving to him and walking in his direction. Evan inhaled sharply and began to walk faster, quickly ducking into the library and through the shelves of books. The teenage angel weaved his way through the shelves, faintly hearing Jared enter the library, and ask Ms. Heartfield where he was. Evan soon made it to his small area in the back of the library, somewhere where students rarely went. It was a small, closed off area, hidden by two shelves of books. There was a small space behind one of the shelves that Evan could squeeze through, which is how he got in and out. Inside the small, slightly dark space, there was a short little table, two purple bean bag chairs, a power outlet, and a little window, which provided Evan with just enough light for him to see what he was doing. He had found this place during his freshman year here, and had been using it since to eat lunch in peace and quiet. The blonde sunk into one of the beanbag chairs and let out a sigh he hadn't even known he'd been holding in. 

 

Pulling out his lunch box from his backpack, the blonde grabbed a sandwich he'd made himself to eat, stared at it, then put it back in the box. Just thinking of eating gave him a stomach ache, and he wasn't going to risk having to throw up, which would result in forcing him to leave his hiding place, and most likely run into Jared. So instead he sat there, flipping idly through the pages of a nearby book, until a noise from in front of him caught his attention. Connor was easily squeezing through the crack between the shelves, his skinny and lanky body limiting any struggle. It looked so easy and effortless, unlike when Evan did it, as he had to wiggle around in order to get his hips through. Damn his curvy female-like twink body. Evan yelped lightly, sinking deeper into the bean bag.

 

“What the hell Hansen, why have you been avoiding us?” Connor scowled, stepping closer to the angel and sinking to his knees on the ground. Evan’s eyes darted around, before his gaze finally went back to Connor, sky blue eyes locking onto the brunette’s hoodie. His hands pulled at a loose thread on his shirt, loosening it even more.

 

“Well, um, I uh- I was, um, scared? N-not of y-you, or Zoe of course. Just uh, I was scared of what you two th-thought of me now? And I didn’t know if I, if you were gonna um, bombard me with questions so uh, I just, av-avoided you guys. Sorry.. if that, if I ruined our um, friendship. If that’s what this is, a friendship. Cuz see, I still d-don’t know how friends work and I didn’t want to assume, though I guess I just did soi’msorry-” 

 

“Hansen. Breathe.” Evan didn’t notice during the rambling, but he supposed that his breathing had gotten considerably faster, and his feathers felt uncomfortably hot and itchy from where they were folded against his back. Connor moved forward and grasped Evan’s hands in his own, staring seriously at the boy. Evan found himself looking back and forth between Connor’s brown eye and blue eye. 

 

“Here, copy my breathing, okay? In for four, hold for three, out for seven. Ready?” Evan began to match his breathing to Connor’s, sweaty hands gripping onto pale ones. The two teens continued the breathing exercises, until Evan found himself growing considerably calmer. Once the boy had calmed down all the way, Evan let go of Connor’s hands and returned his grip to his shirt. 

 

“S-sorry..” Connor hummed in response, and moved to sit next to the teenage angel. Evan was confused, but brushed it off when Connor pointed to the book in the sandy blonde’s lap. 

 

“So, whatcha reading?” Evan looked down to the book, shrugging his shoulders. 

 

“I uh, I was just flipping through it. Without, without really reading it.” Connor nodded, and pulled out his phone from his pocket. Evan stared at the boy curiously, watching the taller teen tap away at a few things, before handing the phone over to Evan.

 

“Here, put your number in, so we can talk outside of school. And in case one of us goes missing again, huh?” Connor chuckled, jokingly poking Evan in the arm. Evan laughed as well, and took the phone with slightly hesitant hands. He input his phone number, willing his hands to  _ stop shaking damnit  _ and handing it back to Connor. The boy sent a text to Evan’s own phone, and the blonde smiled as he took hit out and saved Connor’s number. As the bell rung and Evan and Connor made their way out of the library and to their respective classes, Evan thought that, maybe he was cut out for this friendship thing after all.


	6. Six

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> God it's been a while since I updated this. Writer's block is a killer and I want to fling myself into a volcano because of it. But now I have my own computer so, maybe things will be getting updated faster?? Ya'll better hope so because I just started 11th grade so I'm going to be major stressed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kind of a short chapter, I don't know what I was doing when writing this so it's really just a filler chapter, but later on I actually developed a brain and started trying to outline plots for chapters, so no more weird chapters like this. 
> 
> Ok there will be weird chapters but none as short and as pointless as this one.

Connor Murphy, one wouldn’t have thought that it would be a name that people would come to hate. But of course, as is the case in Connor’s unfortunate life, it turned out it was. Sitting on his bed in his room and picking at his nails, Connor was thinking. It wasn’t really about anything specific, just letting the thoughts take over his mind at that moment. And the thought that had come to his mind at the moment was his name. More like himself, as he was usually the subject of his intrusive thoughts, but he was reflecting on his name. Connor had been named after Cynthia’s father, who was a kind and doting man, and had taught Cynthia everything she knew. Her mother had always been away on business trips, leaving Cynthia home with her dad. Cynthia and her father always had a close relationship, and Connor Williams was definitely a grandfather that Connor was always happy to see. When he and Zoe were little, the older man always brought gifts, like candy, or small toys. One such toy was the airplane that the Murphy family had brought to the Autumn Smile Apple Orchard, that Larry and Zoe had consequently broken, and that caused Connor’s rapid spiral into a monster. He hadn’t meant to lunge at Zoe, and try to hit her. Luckily, Larry had pulled him off before he did, but the fact that he was still screaming at his younger sister and trying to get at her, and Zoe was crying and had run to their mother didn’t help matters. 

 

Snapping back to the present, Connor startled by the sound of his phone buzzing loudly. Turning his gaze down towards it, Connor noted that it was a text from Evan. After the brunette had located the blonde angel in the library last week, and they had exchanged numbers, the two were texting each other nonstop. They talked about whatever topic each conversation was started with, whether it be about trees, or art, or books. Usually, each boy started the topic of their choice off with a picture of something, that would lead to the other asking about that picture. Picking up his phone, Connor opened the message, and saw that Evan had sent him an image of a strange statue, covering its eyes.

 

To treeangel: what the hell is that

 

From treeangel: It’s an Weeping Angel statue! It’s from my favorite show, Doctor Who.

 

To treeangel: oh, you have a poster of that in your room right? i saw it when i came after you on the first day of school

 

From treeangel: You haven’t been over my house since then, I’m surprised you remember that!! :DDD Yes, I do! 

 

To treeangel: i guess you relate most to that thing then huh

 

From treeangel: Oh, not really. They kind of scare me. I mean, a statue that moves when you aren’t looking at it, and can either send you back in time with a single touch, or snap your neck? No thank you!

 

To treeangel: that was more info than needed, but wow ok then

 

The conversation continued from there, Evan rambling on and on about his favorite characters from the show (Donna Noble), and his favorite Doctor regeneration (Eleven) and his favorite screwdriver, and so on and so forth. Connor just put in his two cents when needed, and asked questions from time to time. They ended up talking until night fell, like they’d been doing for the past week. When Evan eventually fell asleep, Connor put his phone away, and stood from his bed to go take a quick shower. Stepping into the hallway, Zoe walked past, smirking at her brother.

 

“Done talking to your boyfriend now?” Connor blushed lightly, and glared at his younger sister.

 

“He is not my boyfriend Zoe, you know that.” Zoe snorted, grin spreading onto her face.

 

“Yeah, not yet.” The brunette continued to walk away, and as Connor stepped into the bathroom, he paused and turned towards his retreating sister.

 

“At least I’m not flirting with Kleinman, the bath bomb eater!” Zoe immediately turned around at that, her face flushed and fists clutched at her sides.

 

“Why you-!” Connor’s laughter became muffled as he shut the bathroom door, and started the shower.

 

Heidi Hansen stood on the edge of the cliff, looking out over the small town she now resides in. Herself and her son, Evan. Her wings were unfolded and spread out at her sides, the soft moonlight illuminating them and making them glow lightly. Her halo shone brightly above her head of golden blonde hair, messy and ruffled by the years. A white dress that stopped just below her knees billowed lightly in the breeze, and her sky blue eyes were gazing up towards the stars.

 

“God, how’s it going up there? Back home? I hope you all are well. I hope my pack mates are well. Oh, gosh, I hope my best friends are well. Have you all seen my son? He’s such, such a wonderful boy…” Heidi then looked back towards the town, visible from the few lights still on in homes and buildings, yet the majority of it dark, with sleeping humans inside. The older angel took a deep breath, her eyes looking woefully at the town she’d been in ever since she was a teen.

 

“Please, all, please let me protect him. Please grant me the strength to be the mother he needs me to be. I know, I know I’m so busy all the time and you all know it too. But I have to support him… I have to make sure no one from that, that  _ terrible  _ place finds him. I don’t care what happens to me, I just want him safe and alive. Please, I pray to the stars and the heavens above, don’t let my baby get hurt. Don’t let him get into any danger. And for the love of all that is holy..” Heidi’s head shot up to the sky, her wings raising as she lifted a leg over the edge of the cliff.

 

“Don’t let him die.”

 

For the second time in her life, Heidi found herself diving off the edge of that cliff. Her hair and dress whipped around her at great speeds, and when she was halfway to hitting the ground and becoming a messy splatter on the ground, her wings opened and flapped, lifting her and helping her dart into the air over the town. The woman soared over the buildings, her bare feet and fingers being tickled by the wind. Heidi didn’t look back to the cliff as she flew home, and she missed the shining lights descending onto the edge where she once stood.


	7. Seven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Today, September 9, 2018, I, Flowersandtrees, have just finished typing this chapter at 1:36 AM. I should be asleep. I am suffering with how to write this story, Flowers and Stone, and another surprise story that you guys will not be seeing until Flowers and Stone is actually completed. So, scale of one to ten, how much positive spam comments do you guys think I can receive???

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Is this short??? Damnit I was hoping it wouldn't be, please help I want to make my chapters way longer sjkdsjadlfhdkjsal

The scent of strawberries and mint hit Evan’s nose as he strolled past the park. His eyes looked over to find the source of the scent, and noticed a mother walking around with a child in a stroller. The scent the woman had reminded Evan of his own mother. No matter how little he sees her or how many scents he encounters, the smell of strawberries and mint always reminds him. Even when Heidi comes home from work to embrace Evan in a hug, instead of smelling like hospital, she somehow manages to keep that same scent. It had come to help Evan feel safe, because he knew his mother was still here, even if she wasn’t always around. Evan had since come to terms with her absence, even if the overwhelming feeling of loneliness was always there. It was either she was off working to protect and provide for them, or in a cage somewhere in a government lab or something. Evan knew that he always had to be aware in case the government did try to come after them again.

Shaking his head of the thoughts, he averted his eyes from where he had been staring off into the distance, and quickly walking away. He made his way back to his house and walked up to his room, flopping onto the bed. Heidi was at work still, and Connor was busy today. Evan had nothing to do. Just as that thought crossed his mind, the sound of his doorbell ringing hit the blonde’s ears. Evan froze, brain racing. Who was at the door? Who could it be? Making his way downstairs, the ringing became more and more prominent, fast and impatient. Evan calmed when that happened, he knew who it was. There was only one person who ever rang his doorbell that wildly. Opening the door, Evan was face to face with Jared. The glasses wearing teen gave Evan his usual wide grin.

 

“Hey Evan! What’s shakin, anything new happen?” Evan stepped aside to let Jared in, before the teen pushed past him like he owned the place. He tended to do that often, so Evan had taken to reacting before Jared started talking again.

 

“I uh, nothing?” The blonde shrugged, shutting and locking the door behind him. Jared plopped himself down on the couch, turning on the tv and flicking through channels. Evan followed after and sat down as well, a a bit away from Jared. His family friend had a habit of doing this, coming to his house unannounced and taking over the Hansen’s television. It wasn’t as if they had cable, only Netflix.

 

“Are you sure? You’ve been acting weird.” Jared didn’t even look at him as he said that, starting up Netflix on the television set instead. Evan pulled at his shirt, not looking at the boy, and instead at his feet.

 

“What do you, what do you mean?” Now Jared looked at him.

 

“I mean, you practically ignoring me and avoiding me the other day, not to mention, you were missing for a whole _week,_ and then you come back like nothing had happened? What the fuck is wrong with you?” Evan had shrunk back at the onslaught of words, the little loose string on the end of his shirt suddenly the most interesting thing in the world now.

 

“I mean, I, I just….”

 

“You know, you’ve always been weird Evan, but never like this! What’s going on? Just fucking tell me Evan!” Jared cried, and Evan’s breath hitched in his throat.

 

“I just…. I, I’m going t-to bed, now..” And with that, the blonde teen ran up to his room, slammed the door closed and locked it. He slid onto the floor with his back against the wood, breathing heavily. He heard no noise from downstairs for a few seconds, before finally he heard the television turn off, footsteps, then the front door opening and closing, the lock turning in it afterwards. It was then that Evan began to break down into tears, the panic attack catching up with him. He continued to sob and hyperventilate, until he eventually ended up passing out on the floor.

 

When Heidi came home that Thursday, Evan was surprised at how early she had gotten back. Maybe now they could spend some time together? Evan had thought she would suggest it, he was, after all, sitting on the living room couch when she entered. He had his wings out and around him, like some sort of fluffy, feathery blanket. He had been sipping some hot chocolate and watching a nature documentary on Netflix when she came home. (They had taken Doctor Who off of Netflix on April Fool’s day, only it wasn’t even a joke.)

Evan opened his mouth to get out a greeting, but his mother had already rushed upstairs and to her room. He blinked in surprise. He had never seen his mother so excited for something, what was going on? After a while, at least an hour, she came back down, but this time wearing something that was nowhere near her normal wardrobe that Evan usually saw her wea; when he saw her,, which usually consisted of her nurses scrubs, a random shirt and pair of pants for night school and her pajamas.The woman had on a black shirt, which drooped off at her shoulders, and had large frilly sleeves that drooped down when she held her arm up. Along with the top, she wore a pair of normal blue jeans with a black belt, and a pair of light beige flats. To complete the outfit, and to hide her oh so obvious angel wings, Heidi wore a black leather vest jacket. Evan stared in shock and surprise at his mother.

 

“What’s going, what are you, where are you going?” Evan questioned, placing his drink onto the coffee table in front of him. Heidi looked at her son, smiling bright.

 

“Oh, I’m just going on a date. I’ll be back before 9, did you write a letter recently? Do you need any more refills? Anything for your wings?” Evan shook his head, standing up and rustling his wings uncomfortably.

 

“A, a date? When did you, who..?” Heidi smiled, walking into the kitchen to grab her purse off the table.

 

“Just a friend from school, he asked to take me out, and y’know, I didn’t want to upset him and say no, he seems so sweet. And I told one of my coworkers, and she got so excited she managed to cover my shift for the rest of the day.” Evan said nothing, still unable to get over the initial shock that, his mom, was _going on a date._

 

“Oh. So uhm, I guess you’ll be, you’re going to be leaving now, then?” Heidi nodded, smiling as she walked over to her son to give him a kiss on the top of his head.

 

“I’ll be back, don’t stay up too late, please eat something too, okay?”

 

“Okay..” The blonde woman was about to leave out the door, before Evan called out to remind her of something.

 

“Mom, your, uh, your halo is..” Heidi stopped in her tracks and lifted her eyes up, noticing that, indeed, her halo was still showing. She chuckled and waved a hand over it, the accessory promptly vanishing.

 

“Oh! Right! Silly me! Thanks honey! Love you!”  And with that, she was gone and out the door. Evan drooped, hands picking at the vane on his feathers.

 

“Love you too..” He had hoped he could spend some time with his mother, but it seemed that that was not going to be the case. He was just a burden after all, she didn’t want to spend time with him, even on a free day she had off. She would rather go on a date with some guy he hadn’t even met yet? Evan sighed, turning the tv off and going back up to his room, leaving the hot chocolate on the table. He suddenly didn’t feel much like watching nature documentaries now.


	8. Eight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry I have not updated!! Gosh being an 11th grader is driving me up the wall, and I'm going through some emotional difficulties, so there's that. Also, those of you who read Flowers And Stone,,, err, sorry that that story has not been updated... I had a plot for chapter 18, and then when I went to go write it, I completely forgot!!!! So if uh, anyone wants to tell me what they think I should do,,,, hit me up on Tumblr @stonersandtrees !

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Filler bois, but, what's this??? Foreshadowing at the end???? Also pretty short chapter oof

Jared Kleinman is an… intriguing person. Anyone can say at least that much about him. He’s not popular, not like he tries to pass himself off to be, but he also isn’t considered one of the losers. Some don’t even think he’s considered a student, others don’t think he’s even considered a human. Jared is just, Jared. So the day that Jared Kleinman comes to school with a very, interesting, to say the least, hat on, barely anyone questions it. Only a few do, and even then, they still don’t know how to ask and phrase their inquiry to the enigma known as Jared Kleinman. So of course, being as oblivious as he is, Evan was one of those who fell into the trap. On this particular day, Jared was wearing a strange flamingo hat. 

 

The headwear part was to look like the body of the flamingo, and there was an extension to the accessory made to look like the bird’s neck and head. It was bright pink, and you would have to be either blind or extremely stupid to not notice Jared wearing the atrocious thing. The teen had been walking to Evan’s locker, and as always, Evan felt his feathers rustle and turned around just in time to see Jared coming towards him. He also turned just in time to see the monstrosity atop his family friend’s head. 

 

“Jared, what-what the h-hell are you wearing?” The blonde questioned, quirking an eyebrow as his hands gripped the books he still held tighter to his chest. Jared grinned, walking closer.

 

“What? Don’t like it? I find it positively alluring.” Evan shook his head, nudging his locker closed with his back. 

 

“Well it’s-”

 

“In fact, I think it’s a keeper. It’ll help me lure in girls, don't you think?” Jared cut Evan off, and to anyone else, it would seem like just a normal Jared thing to do, but Evan could see the truth behind it, and that made him falter and shrink back a little bit. Jared was still pissed at him. Just then, Zoe and Connor came walking up to the two.

 

“Hey Evan, Hey Jar- what is that atrocity against fashion doing upon your head?” The smaller Murphy questioned, her face changing from a smile to confusion mixed with disgust in nearly a split second of approaching the two teens. Connor had a straight face, but the sudden intake of breath Evan heard from him, because he had moved closer to the angel, proved that he was holding in some sort of laugh or snicker. Jared looked over to Zoe, a grin on his face. 

 

“I’m trying out a new fashion statement. Like it?” Zoe rolled her eyes, staring amusedly at the bespeckled boy. 

 

“It makes you look like an idiot.” 

 

“He always looks like an idiot.” Connor commented, causing Jared to shoot a glare the taller boy’s way. Evan didn’t laugh or giggle, knowing Jared would give him hell for it if he did so. It was already bad enough Jared was simply pissed at him, and the punishment for that was simply a ton of insulting jokes meant to stab and maim more than usual. But provoking Jared while he’s pissed at you earns a fist to any sensitive part of your body. Evan didn’t feel like having a broken nose and a black eye again. He already had a broken arm, how much worse could it get? 

 

Connor arched a curious eyebrow at Evan when he didn’t giggle, but they weren’t close enough yet for Connor to know why. Sure they were close, friends even. But can you truly consider someone a best friend unless you’ve spent at least a few months being around them? Connor was aiming for two months before he claimed that the blonde was a friend, and they were only halfway through the first month. Back to the now, Jared pretended to toss his long, luscious locks, Evan thought this was funny because Jared did not have long hair, and placed his hand on his hip.

 

“Come on, you think I’m a cute idiot.” Zoe startled, and her eyes widened.

 

“What the- no I do not!” Jared grinned even wider like he was the Cheshire Cat.

 

“Is that so? Who else stays up until three AM talking to a boy?” Connor raised his hand.

 

“I stay up talking to Evan.” Jared glanced the edgy teen’s way.

 

“That’s cause you guys are twinks. God.” Evan felt his face flush red, just as Connor felt his own cheeks grow hot. Zoe rolled her eyes again, she should stop, that must hurt.

 

“God Jared, you’re such an-”

 

“-Hot, interesting person that you’ve been speaking to for the past three weeks?” Jared had by now turned his attention back to Zoe, and at the comment, Zoe felt herself blush as well. It wasn’t by choice, and she held her ground, that same Zoe Murphy poise still around her. Connor, on the other hand, began to fake gag, and placed his hands over Evan’s eyes and began to lead the boy away.

 

“Jesus Christ, this is too damn straight for my tastes. Come on Evan, let’s go to class, I’m going to take you away from these two before they taint you with their mushiness.” Evan went along with barely a complaint, partially confused and just going along with it in confusion, and also in relief because the class was starting soon, but Evan hadn’t thought he would be able to escape Jared if the Murphy siblings hadn’t burst in. Jared and Zoe stood in the hall, Jared laughing at Zoe’s red face, Zoe glaring at Connor as her voice screeched in embarrassment. Yes, Jared Kleinman was an intriguing person, everyone thought so as he fake swaggered past the other students with his obnoxiously pink hat on. Jared Kleinman was intriguing, and Zoe Murphy was definitely intrigued. 

 

It was late afternoon when Zoe entered the Murphy household, looking around her to make sure no one was watching, and carefully cradling something underneath her shirt. She knew that her parents were out, and Connor was probably with Evan, but one never knew. Quietly closing the front door behind her, Zoe began to make a beeline for the kitchen, when she stopped dead in her tracks. There, standing in the middle of the kitchen, stood Connor, hand holding the jug of milk, his other hand frozen from having started to open the top. Zoe watched wide-eyed, before crying out.

 

“Stop!!! Don’t do it!!!!” She screamed, darting towards Connor, though still being precautious of the cargo she carried. Connor raised the jug of milk out of her reach as she tried to swipe at it.

 

“Jeez, what’s the rush? I mean, I know you get peeved when I drink the milk any other time, but jeez, this is something else.” Connor chuckled amusedly, watching Zoe’s expression go from desperate to angry five year old instantly. Her cheeks puffed out and she clenched one of her fists at her side, the other arm still cradling her shirt. Something moved beneath it. Connor took notice of the movement.

 

“What do you have?” Zoe turned away, covering her bundle protectively. She glared at her brother.

 

“Give me the milk first! Then I’ll show you!” Connor, curious enough to forget his thirst and plan to finish off the milk for that day, reluctantly gave his little sister the carton, and she swiped it from him with a smile on her face. Walking over to the kitchen counter, Zoe grabbed a small bowl from one of the cupboards and poured the milk into it, all with one hand. Then, after placing the milk down; Connor swiping it back up to take a long swig, Zoe carefully pulled the small bundle from under her shirt. It was a tiny grey kitten, with white tips on its paws and tail, and one leg missing. Connor nearly choked on his milk at the sight, and immediately put it down to gush at the kitten.

 

“Holy shit Zo, where did you find him? Can I have him what the fuck?? He’s so cute?? I feel all my problems leaving me.” Zoe stuck her tongue out at her brother, before helping the tiny ball of fur over to the bowl of milk. The kitten stumbled for a bit on its three legs, before balancing and hungrily beginning to drink. 

 

“I found him on the side of the street, he almost walked into the street, but I pulled over and grabbed him immediately. And no, you can’t have him, he’s mine! Find your own abandoned kitten.” Zoe explained, never taking her eyes off her cute new bundle of adorableness. Connor pouted, crossing his arms.

 

“That’s not fair, I was willing to help you hide him from mom and dad. We already know they always go in your room. Don’t come to me when your cat is gone one day soon.” Connor huffed, beginning to walk away. Zoe looked to him, then looked back to the kitten, then looked at her brother once more. God, she hated when he was right.

 

“Ugh, fine! We’ll keep him in your room when we’re at school and when I’m at jazz band, but he comes back to my room when we’re home!” The brunette explained, and Connor turned around, smiling.

 

“Deal.”

*********

Evan watched, entranced, as the kitten nibbled on the tip of his wing. The grey creature was tussling and biting on the feathers, and it didn’t really hurt, just tickled. Connor and Zoe had brought the angel over to meet their new kitten, whom Zoe had appropriately named Riley. Riley was very playful and had sniffed Evan profusely when he stepped into the younger Murphy’s room, before meowing repeatedly. At first, Evan was confused, and it wasn’t until Zoe gestured for Evan to sit on the bed near the kitten (Riley had been leaning off the bed sniffing, Connor had to catch him before he fell off) that he found out why. The tiny creature quickly went around to Evan’s back, as fast as he could on his three little legs, and began to crawl up Evan’s shirt, sniffing at the teen’s hidden appendages. Evan quickly put together the pieces, and that’s what lead him to now, letting Riley nibble and play with his wings. Zoe was sitting at the top of her bed and Connor on the floor closer to Evan. 

 

“Are you sure that doesn’t hurt? I mean I know kitten bites don’t usually hurt but..” Zoe questioned, and Evan shrugged, lifting his wing a little, prompting Riley to swat at it, as best he could.

 

“I mean, I’m fine. It doesn’t really, It doesn’t hurt. My wings are uhm, only sensitive against things that actually, actually hurt. Like, if Riley was an adult, my wings would probably, probably hurt some more.” The blonde explained, never taking his eyes off the kitten. Connor and Zoe shared a glance, before looking back at Evan. 

 

“Well, if that’s the case, what does hurt your wings?” Connor asked, leaning on his elbow, his elbow perched against the bed. Evan gingerly lifted Riley away from his wings and folded the appendages against his back, placing the small three-legged kitten in his lap. 

 

“Well, hard things like, like stone or rock, th-things like bullets, or, or knives, landing the wrong, the wrong way can cause me to break, to break a bone, and other things..” The blonde explained, counting off a few things that could cause harm to his wings. Connor and Zoe nodded, taking a mental note of this new information.

 

“Welp, I guess you should be glad Riley is a kitten then.” Zoe joked. The other two boys laughed. 

 

“Yeah. I mean, I don’t think that, that there’ll ever be a ch-chance for my wings to get, to get seriously hurt anyways.” Evan smiled. The day went on, with smiles, laughter, and an adorable, three-legged kitten.

**Author's Note:**

> I know, Flowers and Stone isn’t even complete yet but here take this new idea I had. If you guys want to see more, comment??
> 
> Message me on Instagram @bemore_evanhansen for casual conversation, talks about my fan fictions, or even to submit drawings one may have done of these stories! (I don’t expect the last one but it’s a nice thought)


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